


Alien; Little Queen

by Lady_Fenikkusu



Category: Alien
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:19:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 8
Words: 42,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6127411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Fenikkusu/pseuds/Lady_Fenikkusu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the story of Shelly Davidson, the hybrid Queen of Xenomorphs and her four loyal brothers and guards, Can Shelly take revenge against Weyland and it people for what they have done to her by creating her own Hive, or will she forever be trapped in the shadows?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> Ok. So I have another story for you guys, this one is darker than the AvP series I did and this story, I doubt will be longer that one story.  
> There will be some details in here that are offensive to some people so I am taking extra care in making sure the warnings are right, so please tell me if I have them wrong or if I have missed one.
> 
> ~ text ~ Xenomorphs talking.  
> ~ "text" ~ Radio or comm talk.

She became aware of herself again slowly, welcomed back to the world of living by the now common feeling of pain and aches in her whole body. The smell of blood and odd chemicals, the cold darkness of the floor beneath her, the bars and reinforced glass that kept her trapped in the cell and the heavy, tight shackles around her wrists and ankles that stopped her moving too close to the bars or glass, her skin was always in pain from them and she knew sometimes they bled… Her insides were in agony all the time and it was hard to breathe thanks to the tight collar around her neck...

She hated it all.

Footsteps, coming towards her... More pain would follow those footsteps, needles injecting something into her, fists slamming into her already sore and aching body… 

She had no strength to defend herself any more… Hungry, exhausted and weak from so many of these sessions of abuse... She wasn’t even sure if she was really alive anymore...

“Wake up you pathetic brat!! I don’t have time to waste on you sleeping!” Her captor snarled as her cell was opened and a blinding light chased the darkness away, allowing her to see the bloody mess she was laying in. She caught sight of her tormenter as he marched over to her, wrapped in a white lab coat and clad in nicely ironed shirt and black trousers underneath.

Her Father.

She struggled to move even as her body ached, pleading with her to stay still, her bones begged her to just stay where she was, but her tormenter grabbed the chains of her shackles and yanked hard, dragging her towards him and out of the cell, over the grated floor ignoring the whimpers as her delicate skin was grazed, bruised and ripped from her unhealed cuts. 

He then shoved her onto a cold metal table, attaching the chains to it so she couldn’t sit up or move as he looked at her. “Look at you, too weak and foolish to even be branded as one of my subjects, much less have a number. You are nothing but a weak excuse for an experiment subject.” He sneered.

Subject... that was what he called her now... 

Subject 0987-06542... It was written on her collar.

A test to see if the DNA of humans could merge with other DNA strands, however her body showed no signs of change, despite the fact her captor had injected her with every form of DNA he could get his hands on, studied blood samples and dosed her up with as many drugs he could find... 

She was only a test to him now. A thing to be used and tested on at his whim. 

But… Faintly in the back of her mind… She remembered a time when he called her by her name and treated her like his little princess… Days when she could call him her father… once upon a time, everything had been better... She had been loved, wanted, even had a real name.

Shelly Elizabeth Davidson…

Now those days were gone, she was just a test subject to her crazy old father’s tests.

Professor Henry James Davidson; head of his own company under Weyland Yutani Cooperation, her once loving father… now little more than her tormentor and captor, ever since her mother had died, he had changed, becoming cold and harsh towards her until he began to beat her, and things had become worse from there.

She wanted it to end, even as he finished with her and threw her harshly back into the cell and locked her in, she knew he would come back later and do it all again… He always did…

She felt tears slip down her face and painfully she curled up tightly into a ball, her body bleeding and sore...

As she drifted on the edge of sleep and awareness, time meant little to her, she heard her father move around outside her cell, his shoes would click on the grated flooring as he moved, trying frantically and madly to understand why she wasn’t changing the way he wanted her to cursing her life and her weak body.

Sometimes she would wake to find a scrap of bread in her cell for food, others times nothing, times came and went when he ignored her and she could heal before he dragged her out again, others she was tortured, beaten and tested on without mercy for when seemed like years at a time...

The pants she wore were held onto her body with a cable of some kind she’d managed to find, her shirt was ripped and torn in so many places it was hardly a shirt at all more like ragged cloth, her body was all bone and skin, hardly any muscles any more.

She was weak because he let her get this way... She was sore because of him... 

She was alone, scared and weak.

\----------

~ “It has taken you almost nine years, Professor Davidson and you have not shown us any proof of your research progressing or useful results. You have run out of time and I am no longer willing to fund a clearly failing Professor’s habit,” ~ the man on the other end of the line stated, calmly adjusting his tie. ~“Your research will be forwarded to a new lab and your subjects will be passed on too.”~

“You can’t do that!!” Davidson bellowed. “My work is almost at its peak, please I need just a little more time!” 

~ “I can and I have. You have two weeks to pack your stuff and leave everything as you found it, your test subjects are to be left in their cells.” ~ And with that the line went dead.

Davidson growled. “I will not be so easily thrown aside, Weyland.” He snarled slamming the phone down and ripping his draw out, snatching a handgun up and slamming the ammo clip into it. “I will not pass my research on to you... I will insure it all ends with me.” He said, setting off towards the cells.

\----------

She was too weak to look up as she heard her father’s heavy footsteps coming towards her; she was too weak to move as she heard gunshots going off around her and the sound of screaming others.

He was killing them... And he was going to kill her...

She felt tears slip down her face as her father stood by her cell and aimed his gun at her, only to colour the air with foul curses as he tossed the gun to the side. “Blasted thing... no matter I have a better death for you, brat.” He stated grabbing her chains and dragging her over the now glass covered floor, passed the dead and dying bodies of other subjects.

She was scared but had no energy to move, she could feel her heart racing inside her chest so rapidly and so hard she thought it would burst out of her...

She whimpered as he lifted her up and dropped her into a large container of some kind, it had something that burned and scalded her skin. She grabbed the edge of the container with weak, trembling hands and managed to find the surface of the scalding water, coughing and choking out the water she had almost swallowed from mouth, she was being moved she could hear wheels rolling until they stopped in a dark room that was warm.

She was so tired... so weak... she wanted to sleep...

Was this how he planned to kill her? Leave her to drown in this boiling water...?

“Good riddance and rot.” Her father spat before the container was shoved off an edge into a Pitt of some kind.

She felt the container tip and managed to gasp out a breath before she felt the hot sting on her body again, driving a pained scream from her body.

A loud hiss like scream echoed around her as something caught her from the fall, carrying her in its warm and slender arms into a warmer place, softly hissing at her in worry.

She opened her eyes and found her vision blurry, showing her that her saviour was large, black and clearly not human.

It seemed to know her body was sore and ached as the thing carrying her was tender and careful, delicately moving her until she felt herself being lowered onto something warm and soft. 

She felt something being placed over her, something that took the painful scolding feeling away from her skin and sooth it away, gentle bumps and nudges tucking her in as if she were in a bed and a four fingered hand slowly lifted her head, pressing something gooey and sweet smelling to her lips with a gentle nudge, attempting to feed her.

She ate slowly, taking small drops into her mouth, feeling the sweet goo slowly sooth her aching insides, as her eyes struggled to stay open one of the hands came to her face gently wiping away the tears as a soft hissing sound began to lull her to sleep…

~ Sleep little one... you are safe with us... ~ a voice said softly as she obeyed, slipping into a dreamless sleep as one hand weakly clutched the hand of her saviour, faintly aware of a strange warmth that was creeping up over her limbs and head.

Everything felt safe here, safer than she had been for a long time… Safe and warm, loved and welcome… She didn’t plan on leaving it any time soon...

She didn’t know how long she’d been sleeping when she woke again, but she felt well rested, safe, warm and comfortable... She’d almost forgotten what it was like to feel such things. She felt, rather than saw movement around her but it didn’t scare her, the movement was slow, careful and almost curious, as if the creature moving wasn’t sure how she would react to it...

She slowly uncurled from her warm ball and rubbed her face a little. “Where...?”

~ Somewhere safe. Protected from the Madman, ~ that same voice said from before as a shape moved closer to her, giving off an air of confident and strength with a domed head, no visible eyes and sharp teeth in its mouth, long skinny limbs with black skin, and a long segmented tail at the rear. ~ Did you rest comfortably? ~ It asked.

She nodded while looking around. “Who are you?”

~ We have no names... No Queen has given us one. ~ The creature said. ~ Most call us Xenomorphs. ~

“That’s too long a name for you…” She said shifting again then paused looking at her hands.

They were different, from her elbows up they were the same, but from the elbows down they had become black colour and tri-fingered, feeling them she realized they were hard, like thick scales covering her skin, her fingers now had sharp claws at their tips.

“What happened to me?” she asked looking at the rest of her body, finding her feet were also different, like her hands they were black from the knees down with clawed toes.

~ The cocoon we placed you in to help you sleep, it has awoken your inner Xenomorph side in a natural way and allowed it to combine with your human side. ~ A second voice stated as another slightly smaller Xenomorph rose from the shadows, and very gently moved her hand to her head, where she felt a strange hard structure had started to develop from her forehead growling back over her hair and ears.

“But… why didn’t this happen before... When he injected me?” she asked.

~ Because he believed you would mutate, rather than evolve. ~ The first Xenomorph stated. ~ Without the Royal Jelly and the cocoon, you would never have grown. ~ It added gently touching her head, the sensation was weird to her now but it also felt nice. ~You are no longer a weak little human that Madman can beat at his desire, you are a Queen and we will protect you. ~

“How? He killed everyone else up there… and we’re down here… how can you protect me?” She asked.

~ We have a plan. But you needn’t worry about it little Queen. ~ The second Xenomorph stated. ~ Try and stand, we shall go and get you something to eat, something to help you get stronger... ~

She nodded, slowly sliding out of the middle of the cosy cocoon and carefully put her feet on the floor, trying to stand but staggering somewhat before she was caught by her saviours. “I feel dizzy.” She said.

~ Then allow us to carry you until you’re feeling better. ~ The first Xenomorph requested softly as he bent down on to all fours, using its long tail to gently pull her onto its back.

“Thank you…” She said as she was carried into a new area where there were many tubs of fruit and jellies and some packages of food that the mere sight off made her stomach groan. “How did you get this?” She asked.

~ Our brothers are smaller than us, they can sneak through the smaller vents and gather food for you. As we do not need to eat as Humans do. ~ The second Xenomorph stated using its tail to tap a small wall panel twice and much to Shelly’s amazement a second pair of smaller Xenomorphs popped their heads out of a vent, upon seeing her they both jumped out of the vent and came up to her, gently nudging her as if trying to insure in their own minds that she was unharmed.

“How many of you are there?” She asked lightly petting the two smaller Xenomorphs.

~ There are only the four of us… well, five now that you are with us, little Queen. ~ The smallest Xenomorph answered. ~ We are brothers. ~

“But you have no names…”

~ No… Our old Queen… She went away before we were hatched… ~ the third Xenomorph said. ~ But… As Queen, you can name us… if you wanted too. ~

“I can?” She asked.

~ It is the Queen’s choice. ~ The first Xenomorph stated softly setting her down. ~ But first, it is time to eat. ~

Shelly smiled a little, quickly tearing into a package of what smelt like fruit not that she cared, taking mouthful after mouthful eagerly as she swallowed, it tasted slightly bitter but she didn’t care, it was food and to her starved stomach, it was the best thing she’d eaten in ages.

“Thank you.” She said licking her lips and claws clean of the small left overs. 

~ How do you feel? ~ The first Xenomorph asked after finishing his own meal, some kind of raw meat.

“Better now, I haven’t eaten in so long.” She said smiling, “So… what now?”

~ We wait for our chance to make a move and then, with your permission, we shall turn this entire facility into our home and rid it of all humans. ~ The first Xenomorph stated.

“How? They are all so much bigger and older than me… I can’t fight or even frighten anyone.” She said. 

~ Leave that to us, little Queen, ~ the second Xenomorph stated while gently nuzzling her.

“What happened to you?” She asked gently touching a deep greenish scar on the side of its head. 

~ I could hear you screaming one night, and it drove me mad that someone dared to hurt you… I tried to escape to help you, but my head was cut open as I tried to climb out and the Madman was able to shove me back in here. ~ He answered with a soft hiss like purr. 

“You could hear me?” She asked. “All of you…?”

~ Yes. ~ The four nodded as the first settled behind her. ~ But that is over now, and you are safe with us. You will never be hurt like that again. ~

“You promise?” Shelly asked.

~ We swear it, Little Queen. ~ The larger Xenomorph stated. ~ Now, eat and regain your strength, we have time to explain everything when you have eaten. ~


	2. Chapter one In the shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly has her first few days with her new found family, Brute and Scar plan for her safety while Hiss and Snap keep the food coming in for her, but there are still people who would do her harm and take her away.

Chapter One  
In The Shadows

She didn’t know how long it had been since she was rescued from the fall by her new found family, nor did she know what was happening above them, but by the sound of things, it was something loud, like a bashing and breaking sound that made her insides shake and tremble.

It hurt her ears sometimes and made it hard for her to sleep and so, they had moved deeper into the seemingly endless shadows to a warm quiet place where the two smaller Xenomorphs had made a large chamber like room out of some kind of odd resin and along with several ledges for them to rest on while not gathering or teaching her about their tunnels and places to hide, they had made what Shelly assumed was a throne for her.

~ We hope it is comfy. ~ The smallest of the four Xenomorphs said as he carefully stacked the food by the wall for her, now and then making a small snap-snap sound with his jaws as he worked.

It was like a rhythm, every few minutes there was a soft snap-snap in the room and Shelly found it pleasing to listen to, almost like the tick-tock of an old clock. 

“Why do you make that sound?” Shelly asked eventually, more curious then anything.

~ My jaws are weak and do not stay together for very long due to the testing the Madman used me for. I have to close them often to stop myself drooling everywhere. A Drone like me should not be seen to drool like some hiveless stray. ~ He explained. ~ Does it bother you, little Queen? ~

“No… I like the sound and it’ll help me find you in the dark.” She said smiling as she settled in the throne, finding it was not only warm and comfortable but also that the back was shaped to allow the still growing crest on her head to continue forming without her knocking it and there was a gap between the seat and back rest of the throne.

~ More food. ~ The second Drone hissed as he came in, carrying a large bag in his jaws. ~ Some kind of fruit, paste like packages and some kind of wobbly stuffs. ~

“Hmmmm…” Shelly smiled, swinging her legs a little. “Where are the others?”

~ Our brothers hunt for us, they will return with our food soon. ~ The second stated still with the soft hissing.

“Do you always hiss?” She asked.

~ I do. ~ He nodded, ~ does it bother you, My Queen? ~

“Not at all… I like it.” She admitted. “And… it gives me an idea about what to name you both.” She added.

~ Really? ~ The two asked, tails swaying slightly.

Shelly nodded and looked at the one who had been stacking the food. “Snap, for the sound you make when you close your jaw.” She said and then looked to the second. “And Hiss for you, for your hissing.” She smiled.

~ Thank you, Little Queen. ~ The two said together, though Shelly had to smile at just how fast their tails were moving.

~ Little Queen? ~ The scared Xenomorph asked as he came into the chamber, ~ Is everything to your liking? ~ He asked.

“Yes it is… Its quiet in here,” She smiled, glad she could no longer hear the loud sounds above them. “And I think I have a name for you too.”

~ Oh? ~ He asked settling beside her while the two drones made themselves scares, likely going to find the food Scar had brought for them.

“Scar.” She smiled, gently putting her hand to his greenish gash on his domed head. “I just need to think of one more name.” She added petting his head.

~ He would accept any name you gave him as we have. ~ Scar said using his tail to carefully scratch an itch under his domed head. ~ Of all of us, he is the oldest and that is why when you were not with us, he was considered the leader. ~

“Is that why he is the biggest?” Shelly asked, “To show he was in charge?” Scar nodded. “Were there others before you?”

~ Not here… At least, not anymore… Only the four of us were able to leave our cradles, the others were lost… The Madman was not patient with them and after our youngest was hatch, he froze the other cradles... They died screaming for help… For the warmth to come back… ~ Scar said looking away somewhat. ~ We felt as if we had failed our Queen, losing so many of our siblings… It greatly saddened our eldest brother… Then, just as we began to think of a way to escape, our youngest told us he heard screaming and he lead myself and the oldest to the chamber you were dropped into by the Madman and we heard you scream… ~ he added gently placing his head on her lap.

“You could all hear me?” Shelly asked.

~ Yes. It angered us all beyond words but as they were only Drones, our brothers could not climb up and break out to help you, it drove them into fits of rage as they felt they could not help you and to try and calm themselves, they began to explore the area and they found a way to leave our prison and search for ways to help you, they brought food here when we realized you were not being fed and over the years we broke and built this place, a means to protect you when we finally found a way to save you. ~

“You did all this for me?” she asked, looking around at the grand structures around them, carefully curved to allow the Xenomorphs to stand to their full height if they needed to. “But… Why?” She added.

~ You are a Queen and without you, we have no duty… Without you, we would have killed without question or concern and we would then have turned on each other for control… But with you here now, we have a chain of control, you are the leader and we your followers, brothers, guards and loyal shadows. ~ Scar said with a gentle chatter as he was petted, like a loyal dog.

“But… but I don’t know how to be a Queen…” Shelly said, “I don’t even know if I can read or write anymore it’s been so long…”

~ Such things are of no use to you here, Little Queen, ~ the oldest Xenomorph said as he came in and laid at her other side, gently resting his head beside her. ~ A Queen needs only know that her followers are loyal, her hive is warm and when she is ready her chosen can assist her in breeding. ~

“Breeding?” Shelly asked.

~ A lesson for another time, ~ the older Xenomorph said, ~ you are still young, Little Queen and this is not a safe place, even now for you to make a hive. We have much work to do before you are ready to breed. ~

“Ok… hmmm… I need a name for you…” Shelly said.

~ I have a name. ~ The larger Xenomorph stated and delicately wrapped his tail around her arm and placed her hand to his neck and there she felt a cold, iron collar about his neck, tightly fastened in place. ~ I cannot see the word and thus, I cannot read it. ~

“Hmmm… B… R… Brrr… B. R. U… T… E… Bru… Brut…?” Shelly said after feeling the letters, then realized there were more. “Brut…al? Brutal?”

~ I believe it was a reference to my attempt at killing the Madman when he was trying to take samples from us. ~ He said, ~ Does it suit your desire for a name? ~ He asked.

“Not really… You haven’t been brutal towards me. But… Brute is another word for something large, I think… Brute is also easy to remember.” She admitted. 

~ Then that will be my name. ~ Brute said gently nudging her, using his tail to break the collar from his neck and then looked to her own neck. ~ Do you want us to remove your shackles? ~

Shelly reached up to her own neck and winced feeling the collar was still there, as were the ones on her wrists and ankles. “They are uncomfortable.” She said.

~ Be still Little Queen. ~ Brute said and then, from inside his mouth, a second set of teeth shot out, biting the shackles from her wrists allowing them to fall easily as she lightly rubbed her now free wrists, soothing the sore red marks the shackles had left.

Scar gave a soft hiss as he repeated the action to the shackles on her ankles, then looked toward her collar and gave a softly hiss. ~ This one will be harder to remove, the skin of your neck is much thinner than ours and has no protection. ~

“What do you mean?” She asked.

~ Yours wrists and ankles have become hardened, become more like our skin but your neck is still soft and could easily be hurt if we tried to bite the collar off. ~ Brute explained, carefully running his tail tip along the collar, searching for a weak spot only to find none. ~ Hmmmm… We will have to find another way to remove it. ~

“Ok.” Shelly sighed softly.

~ We will make it better, Little Queen. ~ Scar said softly nuzzling her. ~ For now, we shall rest and continue to wait for our chance to move. ~

\----------

“This was meant to be a Lab?” A man asked, “Place looks like a slaughter house sir, blood, dead bodies, shackles, chains, more blood, more blood and oh, more blood.”

“Shut up and keep searching for this bastard’s main project.” Another said checking his ammo count. 

“Aye sir.”

~ “Son of a bitch.” ~ Someone else stated over a radio link. ~ “He used his own kid for the project.” ~

“You finally hacked the system then, Lieutenant Jess. What do you have?” 

~ “Says here he used his own daughter, Shelly Davidson, as the project host, even refers to her in the reports as Subject 0987-06542. And according to this she wasn’t progressing at all… heck according to this all she did do was get weaker and weaker.” ~

“Poor kid.” The first man stated. “So, where is she now?”

~ “Says she was wearing some kind of tracking device, but he never turned it on because he had her locked up in Cell 20. Down to the left of your current location sir.” ~

“Just checked. The Cell’s empty but there is a lot of dried blood in there and it looked like the kid had been in there for a long while.” The first man said, “Kid might have gotten away.”

“Activate her tracker and we will see if we can’t find her. Mr. Weyland wants her and any others that are still alive.”

~ “Yes Sir.” ~

“Lieutenant, what’s the deal with this new Sargent? Is he some kind of Veteran?” The first man asked, scanning the room.

~ “He’s Weyland’s best operative, Sargent Li Yen. According to his file he has never been unable to complete a mission, and he has never lost a team mate. So yes, Glen, he is a Veteran.” ~ Jess answered.

“So, why is he with us? I thought this Davidson guy was on the small end of the Weyland pay check, not some big bad money swallowing suck up.” Glen asked as he searched the cells. “What’s the deal?”

“Henry James Davidson is wanted for transporting black market goods via Weyland transports, child neglect and abuse, insurance fraud, money laundering and a fuck load more.” Sargent Li Yen stated. “Weyland wants him brought in for further investigation and he wants the projects to be transferred to a new lab.” He added.

~ “Activating tracker… Now.” ~

\----------

Beep… beep… beep… beep… 

~ Little Queen… your collar is flashing… ~ Hiss said looking at the device around Shelly’s neck.

“What?” Shelly asked hearing the beeping from her neck. “What’s happening?” She asked as fear filled her eyes. “Why’s it doing that?”

~ Be still, Little Queen. ~ Brute soothed softly as he looked at the collar. ~ It has been activated. Humans are looking for you my Queen… ~

“But... But they’ll take me away… they’ll… they’ll put me back in a cell…” Shelly whimpered as Scar and Brute hissed and chattered above her, then Brute nodded and using his tail to point at the darker tunnels where Hiss and Snap quickly rushed away. “I don’t want to go back in a cell… I don’t want to go back…”

~ And you won’t. ~ Brute assured softly. ~ I will stay with you, Scar, Hiss and Snap will stay in the shadows and watch over us from there, they will be our ears and eyes to tell us what these humans want. And if they mean you harm in anyway, they will die, if that is your wish. ~

“But they’ll kill you… they’ll kill you all and take me away.” Shelly said shaking even as Brute gently wrapped his slim arms around her, giving out a soft hissing that helped her to feel calm even as she continued to tremble and shake. “I don’t want you to die…”

~ It will take more than bullets to kill us Little Queen. ~ Brute assured, ~ I promise, you will be safe. ~

Shelly clung to him, trembling as her collar continued to beep and the sound echo around them.

\----------

“She’s below us,” Glen stated looking at his tracker, “there has to be a way down to her.”

“This way,” Yen stated finding the way down into the blackened cell that looked like it had been burnt and charred by some kind of explosion or a large fire, “Weapons hot.” He added throwing a rope down into the cell as he threw a florescent stick down.

“Yes Sir.” Glen said as he threw his own rope down and followed his Sargent down, feeling the air getting warmer and warmer the further down they went until they hit the floor.

“Lieutenant Jess? Are you seeing anything on the monitors?” Yen asked.

~ “No… she’s not really moved… oh wait, she’s somewhere in front of you, and it looks like she has a friend.” ~ Jess said over the radio. 

“Friendly?” Glen asked.

~ “Xenomorph.” ~ Jess stated. ~ “BIG Xenomorph.” ~

“Great.” Glen sighed then aimed his weapon at the sudden hiss he heard. “Fuck.” 

“Go away!!” a frightened and clearly human voice called.

The two men stopped and glanced at each other. “Shelly Davidson?” the Sargent asked. “Is that you?”

“Leave us alone!” the voice yelled again. 

“Kid... We ain’t here to hurt you.” Glen said, “We just wanna make sure you are ok…”

“Go away!! I don’t want to go back!”

Glen looked at the Sargent, “Shelly… can you… can you tell us if you are alone? Who is with you?” he asked.

There was silence for a few moments and then at last, the answer came.

“Brute’s with me… he protects me…” She stated. “Now go away!” 

~ “Kid must be terrified.” ~ Jess said over the comms. ~ “Can’t say I’d blame her.” ~

“Shelly… How long have you been down here?” Yen asked spotting the shadows far in the back of the chamber.

“I… I don’t know…” She admitted, her smaller more human shadow moving further behind the clearly none-human shape that Yen assumed was Brute, the Xenomorph.

“Well… When was the last time you ate something?” Glen asked.

“I… I don’t know….” Shelly admitted again.

Glen smiled kindly and lowered his gun slowly. “Well, I have some Honey and Toffee bars… Would you like some of that?”

“… What’s Honey and Toffee?” Shelly asked.

“You’ve never had them before?” Asked Glen in shock. “Well, they are like chocolate, just sweeter and help fill your tummy.” He explained, hoping that the less official answers would make her feel less afraid of him as he put his gun away slowly and carefully pulled out a silver wrapped bar from his belt. “They aren’t very big, but they are nice, would you like to try one?” He asked showing her the small bar.

It wasn’t big, only the size of the average index finger and about three centimetres thick.

Shelly was quiet and then looked at Brute, as if asking for his advice before her stomach began to growl loudly.

Yen watched as Brute gently nudged Shelly forwards with his head, but never allowed her to go too far away from him, as if trying to insure she was always protected from harm as every step she took, the larger form copies and made sure he was in the way of any shot that might be fired at her.

Glen smiled and held the bar out to Shelly, knowing that his helmet mounted camera was recording what he saw and what he saw shocked him.

She looked like she was skin and bones, with very little strength as she held onto Brute for support as he helped her move and then when she was within reaching distance, Brute gave a warning growl to which Glen simply held up his free hand in defence.

“I’m not gonna hurt her.” He assured, then looked at Shelly, “You just tear the top off and-” he began to explain only to pauses as Shelly snatched the bar from his hand ripped the packaging off and ate the whole bar. “You really haven’t eaten in a while have you?” he asked.

Shelly shook her head while chewing the bar in her mouth then when she tried to swallow he noticed she struggled due to the collar.

“Is that on tight?” he asked nodding to the collar and Shelly nodded.

“Brute can’t get it off… so I have to eat mushy stuff… still hard to swallow.” She said, rubbing the skin around the collar.

“Well, maybe we can find a way to get it off?” Glen offered looking at the Sargent. “I mean, if it stays on she could choke.” He added.

Yen nodded, “I’ll ask the Lieutenant to check for any way to remove the collar.” He said. “But you cannot stay down here… we need to get you properly checked out and make sure you are not sick or injured.” He added.

Shelly looked to Brute again. “But… what will happen to us?” she asked, “What will happen to him?”

“He can come too… if he… promises not bite or hurt us.” Glen said.

“Brute will only hurt you if you hurt me.” Shelly said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

“Ok… Well then I guess the only thing we need to do is go up and have our medic check you over.” Glen said.

~ You are doing very well, Little Queen. ~ Brute assured allowing Shelly to climb on to his back. ~ This may yet prove to be useful. ~

~ I… I hope so… ~ Shelly answered still not so use to talking with her mind. ~ I don’t like these men… they look scary and they smell odd. ~

~ You needn’t worry, they will not hurt you, not so long as I am around. ~ Brute assured as he climb the wall following the two marines. 

\----------

~ They smell odd… I do not like leaving out little Queen with them. ~ 

~ They will not keep her long Hiss, ~ Scar assured. ~ Brute will protect her from harm and keep her safe. ~

~ Still do not like it. ~ Snap chattered softly.

~ Soon brothers, we will have our fun, but for now, let them insure our Queen is truly healthy. Then we shall dispose of them. ~ Scar said.

\----------

“And you say that none of these changes have hurt you?” The medic asked as he very gently pressed his fingers against her stomach area while Brute, much like a cat was curled up beside Shelly’s bed, hissing and nudging a small drone of some kind with his tail. “They look very drastic, are you sure that you felt no pain at all?”

“No. I didn’t feel any pain from these… only when the needles went in…. and when he… was angry.” Shelly said, then quickly changed subjects. “Why do you have a mask on?” she asked, referring to the small surgical mask the man was wearing.

“Because it is hygienic.” The medic said. “I have a cold, I don’t want to spread that cold to others so I wear the mask.” He added. “Open your mouth wide please, I’ll check and make sure you still have good teeth.” He requested.

“Ahhhh.” Shelly said opening her mouth as wide as it would go.

“Thank you… hmmm… some signs of poor dental hygiene but nothing a good brush won’t cure.” He said, offering her what looked like a dental guard, “Bite down on this for me, please, hard as you can.”

“Why?” Shelly asked taking the guard and looking at it.

“So I can make sure that all your teeth are spaced correctly and that we don’t have to add a tooth filling to the long list of things that fool professor didn’t do for you.” The medic said.

Shelly put the guard into her mouth and then bit it as hard as he mouth would allow.

“Thank you.” 

“You say that a lot.” Shelly said.

“Because it is good manners.” The medic said, “A gentleman always says please and thank you to a lady, even if that lady happens to be very young.” He added. “Now, last two request and I will get Glen to hand over another of his sweet bars for you.”

Shelly smiled. “What do you need me to do?”

“I would like you to try and read the fourth line of letters on that sign by the door for me please, just to check your eye sight.” the medic asked looking at Brute. “What did you say his name was?”

“Brute. B.R.U.T.E.” Shelly smiled rather proudly then looked at the sign and began to squint a little. “Ummm… erm… double you… why… are… pee… ummm… I don’t know that letter…” She admitted.

“That’s ok.” The medic said and then handed her a small lollipop shaped patch, “Now cover one eye and read the fifth line’s first two letters for me and then cover your other eyes and read the next two letters please.”

“Ok…” Shelly said and covered her right eye first. “Ummm… Ce… Zed…” She then covered her left eye and began to squint again. “El… ummm… El…. Te?” She asked.

“Not quite but close, it’s an Ef.” The medic chuckled. “Seems your left eye is weaker than the right.”

“Is that bad?” Shelly asked handing him back the patch. 

“Not at all dear, and thank you.” He added taking the patch. “You may go now, and tell Glen that I told him to give you another bar of toffee and honey.” He added.

“Thank you.” Shelly smiled “Come on Brute,” she added and brute stood, following her like a loyal shadow.

“All good?” Glen asked.

“Yes and he says you have to give me another of that toffee honey bars, please.” Shelly said and Glen smiled, searching his pack for another bar for her.

“Finally!” Jess yelled from her seat. “Stupid firewalls had be blocked for the last hour!”

“What’s a fire wall?” Shelly asked.

“A computer’s defence against attacks.” Jess smiled, “but there isn’t a computer in the world that I can’t hack, now let me see if I can find… aha! Here it is.” She added and waved Shelly closer. “Come here Sweetie, I’ll get that Collar off you.”

“Really?” Shelly asked and moved closer to the lieutenant while Brute settled by the wall, watching Shelly like a hawk as the lieutenant pulled a chair closer to her and very gently lifted Shelly’s head so she could see the collar better.

“Access code goes in here, press the release and…” *click* “There we go, no more collar.” Jess smiled taking the collar away from Shelly’s neck and placing it on the table. “Wow that was on really tight, you might need some cream on that…” she added looking at the red and bruised mark where the Collar had been.

Brute came over and looked at the collar, hissing at it as he then looked to Shelly, who lifted her head up and let Brute see. “No more collar.” She smiled and Brute, seeming to be pleased by this gently nuzzled Shelly and then looked up as the Sargent came back in.

“Just got off the phone with head office in this place, Professor Davidson hasn’t used his card or his accounts since he was fired.” Yen stated then looked at Shelly, “Do you have any ideas where he might go? Names he might have mentioned?” he asked.

“Only someone called Weyland Bastard and Fucking Swine.” Shelly said lightly petting Brute’s head.

“Ah… That isn’t someone’s name sweetie.” Jess said softly. “Mr. Weyland is the man who owns this place. His real name is Carl Bishop Weyland, but the rest of the names are… rather foul words to be used by a young lady.” 

“Oh… Are they swear words?” Shelly asked sounding rather sheepish suddenly. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to be foul.”

“Yes, they are, but we can’t scald you for it, you weren’t to know.” Jess nodded as Glen handed her the requested bar, “What do you say?”

“Thank you,” Shelly said opening the wrapper and ate it in one again.

Glen smiled again, “You really like those don’t you?” He asked.

Shelly nodded swallowing without any pain for the first time in a while and giggled as Brute nuzzled her. “I’m ok Brute. No more collar so no more pain.”

Brute gave a soft hiss.

“Now we have one last thing to do.” Yen said.

“What’s that?” Shelly asked.

“We need to get you a room that is safe and away from everyone to avoid causing any unwanted trouble.” Yen stated.

“Why can’t I just stay down there?” Shelly asked, nodding to the darkened room they had come from. “It’s nice and warm, it’s safe from people and I have Brute to look after me.” She added.

“It’s hardly a good place to sleep properly deary and you do need a good bath.” Jess said.

“A bath?” Shelly asked.

“Yes dear.” Jess said with a kindly smile. “I bet we can even find some bubble bath or something to help wash the muck off you, won’t that be nice?” She added.

~ I don’t like the way she talks to me… ~ Shelly said, ~ She’s too nice... too much like a mother… I don’t like it. ~

~ Soon enough she will no longer be a problem. ~ Brute assured, ~ But a bath would help you, the warmth will help your crest and prevent the itching that will come from being in the cold. ~

~ Alright… ~ Shelly said smiling as Jess lead her to the wash room. “Come on Brute.” She called and Brute followed without question, using his tail to lightly knock a small ball off the table as he went.

“Are you sure you want him to come with us?” Jess asked looking a little unsure.

“Yes.” Shelly said without hesitation. “He protects me. He keeps the bad things away and makes everything better… that’s what big brothers do.” She added.

“I see… well he might like the wash room.” Jess said as they entered the large wash room, instantly it felt warmer and Shelly smiled as Brute went around the room, checking everything first then settled beside the large bath tub and gave a soft hiss like purr.

Shelly giggled. “Big kitty.” She smiled as the warmth of the room increased while the Lieutenant ran the bath and added some bubbles as Shelly pulled one of the knots on her ragged top open and pulled it off before fiddling with the cable belt in her ragged pants.

Before Jess could say anything to stop her, Shelly climbed into the hot water and settled in the tub with a soft sigh.

“Aren’t you burning?” Jess asked in worry as the girl used her claws to pop bubbles.

“No, I like hot places… they make me feel safe…” Shelly admitted. “Brute makes the places warm, he makes a little nest for me to sleep in and then he curled up around me so I stay warm.” She smiled.

“I see… so he is like your guardian?” Jess asked.

“Yep.” Shelly smiled then giggled as Brute’s tail spike popped a bubble.

“Shelly… How long were you in that cell?” Jess asked.

“I don’t remember… one day I was in my bed, then when I woke up I was in there… he stopped calling me Shelly… I wasn’t his daughter after that day… I became subject zero, nine, eight, seven, dash zero, six, five, four, two…”

“Horrid…” Jess said. “Well, I can assure you, Shelly, he will suffer for what he has done to you.”

“Really?” Shelly asked.

~ In more ways than you can imagine, my Queen. ~ Brute answered as Jess nodded. ~ I give you my word. ~

\----------

“She’s as healthy as she can be for her current state, whatever Brute has been feeding her it is helping and has given her back some of her muscle and helped her survive, but she is still borderline starving and in desperate need of nourishment and far better medical care then I can give her here, she changed subjects about her father and she is very young, still young enough to hide massive injuries.” The medic sighed softly. “Poor child needs to be cared for a seen by a whole team of doctors.”

“So what do think will happen to her?” Glen asked a he cleaned his gun.

“I have no idea, but she will not be staying here. Too many people would object and likely try to ‘mercifully’ end her suffering.” Yen said. “She will likely be transferred to a more secure facility with her companion that is more suited for her and allowed to form a home there.” He explained, “Unless her companion proves to be troublesome, then they might not be willing to move them without some form of security.” 

“You think that’ll be an issue? I mean sure he’s a Xeno, but he seems to be tame… at least to her.” The medic stated clearing his throat a little.

“I’m not so sure,” Yen said. “He seems very protective but he is always very watchful of us.” He added, “But for now, let us stay focused on getting Shelly’s transport arranged.”

~ He is wary of us. ~ Hiss said looking towards Scar from his place in the narrower vents. ~ What shall we do? ~

~ For now let it be, we shall do as Brute said and monitor them, if they are threats towards our Queen, we deal with them. ~ Scar stated as they moved deeper into the vents. ~ Come. We have work to do. ~

\----------

Shelly giggled as Brute tried and failed to catch the towel that had been thrown at him, making her laugh all the more as the large Xenomorph fell over and tried to wiggle from under the towel. “Silly Brute.”

“Shelly? Sweetie, what’s happening in there?” Jess asked from the door. 

“Nothing.” Shelly answered though she was still giggling as Brute tried to catch the next towel thrown at him.

“Sounds like something fun.” Glen chuckled. “Are you all dressed again?” he added.

“Yes.” Shelly giggled as Brute came out with her following him, once again dressed in her rags. “All clean and dressed.”

“Very good, now we have much to talk about,” Yen said. “We need to properly have you transferred to a new facility for complete study and information on what that foolish man has done to you.” He added.

“Why do I need to go somewhere else to do that?” Shelly asked. “All the work he did to me was here not somewhere else.” 

“But he might have moved some of his work to a new location and to insure he doesn’t send someone here to insure the end of his work is over, you are safer away here.” Jess said with a light pat to Shelly’s head. “You and Brute.”

“But I want to stay here with Brute in our little hole… It’s nice there and warm… And all my food is there.” Shelly said, “We can’t just leave.” 

“You are not safe here.” Yen said again, this time with a bit more force in his tone. “Our boss would prefer for you to leave and be placed in a much nicer facility and there we can have good people try and find a way to help you back to your full health, while possibly find a way to undo this forced change he has put you through while in a controlled, clinical and respectable way to you.”

“But... I don’t want to go somewhere else… I’m safe as long as I am with Brute and Brute says I live here with him.” Shelly said moving closer to Brute as the large Xenomorph started to growl and hiss at Yen for his tone.

“Enough.” Glen said as he stood up and put himself between Shelly and Yen, “We aren’t gonna force you to leave, Shelly… But please, just think about it.” He asked. “Please.” He added softly. 

“I don’t want to leave this place.” Shelly said softly.

“Ok, we won’t talk about this anymore.” Glen said giving the other two a firm look before Shelly climbed into Brute’s back and let him carry her up into the ruins of the celling, where it was dark and warm and away from others. “Shelly… Please come down…”

“I don’t want to.” Shelly said. “Leave us alone.” 

“Shelly…” Glen sighed. “Ok, we’ll leave you be… but please, don’t stay up there for too long… We didn’t mean to upset you.” He assured softly.

“… Ok.” Shelly said, watching as the three left to a new room she couldn’t get too.

~ Are you alright little Queen? ~ Scar asked over their link. ~ Why are you scared? ~

~ I do not want to leave this place… not without all of you… they will send me away and do what that madman did to me again… I don’t trust these people… ~ Shelly said clinging to Brute as he held her tightly. ~ I don’t want to leave you. ~

~ You need not worry my Queen. ~ Brute said softly nuzzling her. ~ These humans and all others here will suffer, now come, you need rest. I shall keep you safe while Scar and the others finish preparations. ~

~ Ok. ~ Shelly nodded and let Brute carry her to a warm area before curling up in a soft pile of blanket that had been placed there and soon, she was sleeping with Brute wrapped around her.

\----------

Scar watched carefully, counting each and every head that he could see and carefully making sure he was right as he carefully tried to fit their plan around so many.

It could work, but it meant that they would have to be slow, methodical and careful. 

~ What shall we do? ~ Hiss asked.

~ I don’t know yet what we can and cannot do. But we are far too few in numbers to attack openly. We shall have to do this slowly, like shadows… but we shall have to plan carefully and keep ourselves separate from the Little Queen and Brute until they are ready to return to us. ~ Scar explained.

Snap watched another group of humans move. ~ Scar, they have an odd small about them. Like the madman. ~ He said.

~ Then we take them out first. ~ Scar said. ~ No matter what no one like that madman must get near our Queen. ~

~ Understood. ~ The two smaller Xenomorphs hissed softly. 

\----------

“Shelly?” Someone called up and Shelly felt Brute nudge her softly to wake up. “Shelly are you still up there?”

“What do you want?” Shelly asked looking down at Glen.

“Just making sure you were ok… Are you hungry?” Glen asked, offering a honey and toffee bar up to her, allowing Brute to take it within his tail and bring up to Shelly. “I’ll take that as a Yes.” He said.

~ Do not eat it. ~ Brute said softly. ~ It smells different. ~

~ I won’t. ~ Shelly said. “Why do you want me to go somewhere else?” She asked, as she stashed the bar for later use. 

“We don’t, but the boss man does… and he is very concerned about you.” Glen said. “He isn’t happy that your father was so cruel towards you, or that he used you as his test subject, he would never allow that to happen.”

“So why try send me somewhere else? And why have people come and try to take me away… What will they do to me… to Brute?” Shelly asked. “He isn’t human like you and well, like I was… What will they do to him?” she added as Brute slowly made his way along the wall, watching Glen and looking around for the other Humans he could hear.

“I don’t know… If I knew I would tell you, believe me, but I’m just a grunt. They don’t tell us stuff like that.” Glen said, sparing a glance at Brute. “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”

“Then why are you here?” Shelly asked.

“I wanted to make sure you are ok.” Glen stated. “Please come down, it is not easy to see you up there.” He asked softly.

“I don’t want to.” Shelly said, “Brute says it is not safe.” She added.

“I’m not armed.” Glen said.

“Your friends are.” Shelly hissed. “I’m not coming down!”

~ Stay near the wall Little Queen, we will deal with this. ~ Scar stated as a second shadow crept over her and two others slipped into the room from separate vents.

“Shelly please.” Glen pleaded, “This will be easier if you do as asked.”

“No.” Shelly said and curled up behind a light fitting, and covered her ears.

“Then I am sorry.” Glen sighed and moved to the side.

In the next instant all hell broke loose, gunfire and screams echoed around the room as hisses and unfamiliar screams cut through the gunfire as Shelly hide behind the light fitting, protected from the bullets as hey clanged and pinged off the fitting rapidly and randomly. 

“There are four of them!!” Glen bellowed before he gave a blood curling scream.

“Shoot them!!” Yen bellowed out. “Shoot them!!!”

Slowly it became quite and a tri fingers hand gently touched her back. ~ Little Queen? ~ Scar asked in worry as she slowly uncurled.

“I’m ok… is it over?” Shelly asked as she looked around the room, spotting several dead people she didn’t know and Glen, struggling to breathe as he tried to slow the blood flow out of his throat.

~ It is over. ~ Scar nodded, ~ Come, you and I will leave clean up to Brute, Hiss and Snap while we get you some food and a fresh drink, then we shall move on. ~

“Ok.” Shelly said and climbed onto Scar’s back and allowed him to carry her down to the ceiling to the floor again and allowed him to set her down on her feet again.

“Why…?” Glen chocked out. “Why… Do this…?”

“Because I don’t need humans like you,” She said. “You aren’t going to help me, you are going to continue what my father did…” She added and turned away. “Good bye Glen.” 

~ Come my Queen. ~ Scar said gently pulling her away from the room as Brute grabbed Glen. ~ You need food and a drink, ~ He added. 

“Where are we going?” Shelly asked following Scar back into the darkness.

~ First we shall get you some food and something to drink and then we shall move on to properly clearing the humans from this place and making our Hive. ~ Scar stated.

“But I’m not ready to breed yet.” Shelly said, “You said before… I wasn’t ready for that.”

~ Brute and I will sort out what we can until you are ready, but you will be ready to breed sooner than you think and before that happens, we must first prepare a safe hive for you. ~ Scar explained.

“Ok.” She smiled.

\----------

“This is beyond an outrage!!!” Yen growled as Jess applied his bandage tightly. “What the hell was that fool thinking!? And why were there no details about the other three aliens!? Why weren’t we informed of them before landing?!” he demanded into the phone.

~ “We had no knowledge of any other Xenomorphs on that station. Only the Queen who we know died after poor care and the single egg that survived to adult hood in Professor Jamison’s care before transfer to Professor Davidson.” ~ His employer stated calmly.

“Where did Davidson get these four?!” Yen asked. “And how is Shelly controlling them?!”

~ “Likely they have accepted her as one of their own and are protecting her, they will not allow harm to befall her nor will they likely allow her to be alone.” ~ Weyland stated. ~ “You will have to find some way of containing them or kill them and bring the girl to her new facility.” ~

“How?! She is one of them now, faster, stronger, everything they are she is!! How are we meant to contain her?!” Jess demanded.

~ “Figure it out, lieutenant.” ~ And without further conversation Weyland cut the commutation off.

“Son of a bitch!” Jess snarled.

“We have a job to do.” Yen stated taking up his gun, “Let’s get moving.”

“But sir…!” Jess tried to plead only to stop as the Sargent handed her the rifle she had laid down. “Sir!”

“We have a job to do Lieutenant, now stop your sniffling and get on your feet. We have bugs to kill and a brat to put in a cage.” The Sargent stated coldly. 

“… Yes sir.” Jess sighed softly.

\----------

Shelly stirred feeling something nudge her side softly as she rested in her cocoon. “Brute?” She asked and the larger Xenomorph gave a soft hiss. “How long was I asleep?” She asked slowly sitting up only to feel somewhat uncomfortable.

~ Not long, little Queen, just long enough to allow another change to take place… ~ he stated softly nudging her to stand up, ~ you have a tail now. ~

“A tail?” Shelly asked looking at her rear and found there was indeed a long segmented tail like Brute’s, only the spike at the end was slightly more predominant and slightly curved, fitting seamlessly at the joint, where the other Xenomorph tails spikes were more pointed and slightly bulkier at the base.

~ You are changing, becoming a true Queen in both body and mind. ~ Scar explained as he landed beside her with a gentle hiss. ~ Soon you will not need to hear our voices in your head but hear our voices as we speak. ~

“That will be nice.” Shelly smiled, watching as her tail slowly swayed back and forth. “This might take some getting use too.”

~ We are here to help you, Little Queen. ~ Scar assured softly while Brute helped her to stand and find her balance. ~ We will not leave you to struggle, and we will all teach you how to move as we do. ~ He added.

“Thank you.” Shelly smiled. “So where do we start?”

It went from there.

Brute and Scar taught her how to balance and walk with a tail, showing her how to walk along walls and even upside down on the ceiling beside them while Hiss and Snap brought fresh food and drink for her.

Many hours later, Shelly settled in her cocoon like bed and yawned. “I’m tired.” She said rubbing her eyes.

~ Then sleep little Queen. We will be here when you wake. ~ Brute assured softly placing a warm blanket over her.

“Stay with me?” Shelly asked.

~ Always. ~ Scar assured as the four curled around her cocoon and nuzzled her softly until at last she settled down to sleep, unaware for now of the talks between her four guardians as she rested in a dreamless sleep.

~ Do you think she will be ready? ~ Scar asked.

~ She will be ready, the question is will she be willing… after all that has happened she needs time and to trust us completely, we cannot force her to breed until she is ready and willing to accept us. ~ Brute said.

~ What about the humans? Could they not be used? ~ Hiss asked, carefully tucking the blanket around Shelly’s feet, ~ could she not prepare herself for you or Scar with them? ~

~ Human breeding is not like ours. But they could be used for something similar… ~ Scar hissed then looked to Brute. ~ By now, her womb is only going to accept our seed, not the seed of human males… could she not be allowed to learn the sensations of breeding before we fully claim her? ~

~ Possibly… ~ Brute hissed softly. ~ Let us talk of it later, when our Queen is ready and prepared. For now, let her rest and we shall do as we have always done. ~

~ Yes brother. ~


	3. Chapter 2 First Blood

Chapter Two  
First Blood

After a whole twenty four hours, Sergeant Li Yen was still frustrated that he could not find Shelly or her four Xenomorph followers, nor could he find any reason for why power was suddenly going out in the higher areas.

It was also frustrating him that Jess wasn’t able to find Shelly now that her tracking collar had been removed.

In short. Everything was going to hell.

“Where IS she?!”

“Likely somewhere warm, Sir.” The medical officer stated. “According to what she said, Brute kept her warm, so the engine rooms or somewhere near a heat source would be the best place.” He added.

“And we have another issue.” Jess sighed. “Just got word, three missing persons from the labs, all related to the work done to Shelly… all of them also known friends of her father.”

“Get them a security detail.” Yen growled, growing more and more frustrated as he realized just how little he truely had to work with on this hunt and that he and his team were out matched by a child and four Xenomorphs.

That would not look good in a report.

“Search the data banks that Davidson might have had, look for anything that mentions the Xenomorphs and what else he may have done to the girl, and don’t tell me there is nothing! He’ll have had some kind of record about them.” he growled before storming off. 

Jess sighed and began to type again rapidly. 

Her thoughts however, were not on her work, but on Shelly.

How could a once so cute and innocent child become so cold and so… so murderous…?

She wanted to know why. 

And if she couldn’t get answers from the computer, she’d do it the old fashioned way and go out and look for the answers.

Even if that meant she had to go and talk to Shelly again.

She typed for what felt like hours, breaking through fire walls and data protection walls without pause as she searched and searched for anything that could help.

Eventually she found what she was looking for and opened the documents and downloaded them to her personal computer to decode them.

After a long seemingly endless hour of decoding, she called Yen back into the room over the radio and showed him what she had found.

“Four Xenomorphs, taken from their true hive and brought here by order of Professor Davidson as a means to study and attempt genetic modifications to the human Geno and also study the behaviour of male Xenomorphs when they are separated from a Queen.” Jess read off. “He was using them as a means to turn Shelly into what she is now and when it didn’t happen at his desired pace, he got angry and closed them off in their cell and then began to beat Shelly. According to this.” She added.

“So we now about them now, where the fuck was all this when we arrived?” Yen demanded in anger.

“Because it was under high protocol locked and fire walls, as in, WEYLAND class. So even if I had known about this information it would have taken me a while to get it in readable details.” Jess snarled back. “If you have any further details you need, call the brass and get them to get it for you. I’m done with this.” She added taking up her jacket and weapons.

“Where are you going?!” Yen demanded.

“Patrol!” Jess snapped and left the room.

After a few minutes walking she ducked into a storage cupboard and waited, and as she thought, Yen tried to follow her down the corridor only to go the wrong way looking for her in his anger.

Nodding, Jess put her gun on her back and pulled up a map of the station, searching for a vent and smiled when she looked up and found one above her.

With a little work she was able to get the cover off and climbed up into the vent shafts, using a small torch to search the darkness.

“Ok… if I was in a vent, living with four Xenomorphs… where would I go…?” She asked herself as she began to move through the shaft slowly and sluggishly due to the small size of the shaft.

\----------

Brute watched as Shelly practiced walking upside down with Hiss and Snap, sometimes she would pause and adjust her grip and then start moving again, he was impressed at how quickly she was taking to the new abilities she had and how accepting she was of them and their ways. Granted it had been awkward at first, walking up the walls and along them seemed to have been easy, but trying to move on the ceiling while upside down had been very disorientating for Shelly and she had taken longer to adjust then they had.

“So… how do you get down if there are no safe walls to climb down?” she asked.

~ We can just drop down, but we have to turn in the air so we land on our feet. ~ Snap explained. ~ Like this… ~ he added and after taking a few steps away from her and Hiss he let go of the ceiling and dropped, twisting around in the air and landing with a thud on the floor.

“Looks easy…” Shelly said. “So just... Make sure it’s clear on the floor and then, let go and twist?” She asked.

~ Yes little Queen. ~ Snap nodded. ~ And your tail will help you keep your balance when you land, so you don’t fall. ~ He added looking back towards Brute. ~ Right brother? ~

Brute nodded. ~ Your tail act to help you balance and it will also help you twist faster as you fall. ~ He assured. 

“Ok…” Shelly said and after a few moments to prepare herself she let go of the ceiling…

And landed in a slight heap, having not turned quite fast enough to land on her feet properly. “Ow…”

~ Are you alright, Little Queen? ~ Hiss asked as he and Snap quickly moved to help her stand back up.

“I’m ok… just embarrassed…” She admitted.

~ Don’t be, ~ Brute hissed softly as he came over and gently nudged her side. ~ We all fall sometimes. ~ He added.

~ Little Queen! Brothers! ~ Scar’s voice suddenly hissed as Scar came charging in from one of the tunnels, skidding to a stop and angrily thrashing his tails around.

“Scar what’s wrong?” She asked reaching out and gently petting Scar’s domed head in hoped to calm him. “What’s happening?”

~ I have found him, my Queen, that madman who hurt you so much. I have found him… ~ Scar explained, ~ He is still on this station… he is still living a comfortable life… ~

“What?” Shelly asked. “Show me.” She then said, “Show me where he is.” 

~ Calmness my Queen. ~ Brute hissed softly. ~ We shall all go and see this for ourselves… and we shall plan what to do from there. After all, attacking blindly will only make this harder for us. ~

Shelly nodded and let Scar take her wrist in his tail and lead them through the tunnels and then into a place they had not yet covered in resin yet, making their movements slow and more precise and Scar gently tugged her towards a small vent cover where a dull light was shining.

Shelly knelt quietly and looked through the vent.

He was there, clearly happy and living in a comfortable apartment, sat in a comfortable high backed arm chair with plush cushions and a foot stool under his feet and a smoker’s pipe in his mouth as he read some kind of book, across from him sat a young, beautiful blond haired woman with a huge bust barely hidden in her low cut top as she worked on a laptop.

That wasn’t what angered Shelly however. 

Sat on the soft fluffy floor mat, snuggly wrapped in a warm night robe was a little girl, maybe five or six at a guess, playing with a doll that Shelly remembered had been hers once upon a time…

He had made a new family for himself. 

And he had dared to give another child her toys…

How dare he…?

~ My Queen? ~ Brute asked softly, gently pulling her away from the vent as she began to shake. 

“Take… me home…” she said softly in a voice that sounded on the verge of cracking. “Please… take me home…”

Brute nodded and gently lead her back to eth safety of their home, gently wrapping her in a blanket once they reached their home and held her close and protected as she began to sob and shake more, the sight of her tormenter living so comfortably only now making her realize how little her father had loved her. 

They moved and curled around her, gently nuzzling and nudging her softy in assurance they were there for her, no matter what happened.

\----------

~ “What do you mean she’s gone?!” ~ Yen bellowed over the comms.

~ “We can’t find her, sir, she was in here then she took off and no one has seen her since.” ~

~ “Well keep looking and get her back here! Damn fool, no telling what stupidity she got herself into.” ~ He snarled slamming the comm down and storming off by the sound of things.

Jess smiled, she was glad the comms didn’t go both ways when in the vents, at least she could keep track of everyone else while she searched for Shelly and her Xenomorphs and judging by the sudden increase in space and the dry heat, she was close.

She paused, hearing something close to her that sounded very much like a hiss. 

Guessing it was a Xenomorph, she slowly and carefully removed her gun, hearing the hiss getting closer, she then made sure that whoever was watching her saw her remove the magazine from her gun and drop it to the ground, along with the two spares she’d brought and then lay the gun down. 

The hissing paused and then started again softly and something sharp jabbed her side, checking for any hidden weapons, she didn’t carry them, and after the jabbing stopped, she was not so gently nudged forwards from behind by something smaller than Brute had been, but clearly a Xenomorph. 

She used the torch to see where she was going, but let the Xenomorph lead her, it seemed to know she wasn’t use to the darkness, pausing now and then to let her see where it was leading her before the light got a little better and he gave a low chattering sound.

“Hiss?” 

Jess looked up and saw Shelly sat on a seat of resin wrapped in a warm blanket and half way through a large packet of rations from somewhere, Brute at her left and another large Xenomorph with a long scar to his domed head at her right, she looked like she had been crying but before Jess could ask about it, Shelly spoke first.

“Why are you in the vents?” She asked.

“I was looking for you… I want to talk to you… just talk I swear.” Jess said, spotting a third Xenomorph behind the seat, smaller than the two and every now and then the jaw would snap closed. 

“Why do you want to talk?” She asked setting her food package aside and smiling somewhat as Brute placed his head in her lap.

“I wanted to make sure you were alright… that you weren’t hurt in the fire fight before… and ask you some questions…” Jess admitted, “Do they all have names? And... When did you grow a tail?” She asked seeing the appendage curled at her side.

“When I was sleeping… and yes they all have names, you already know Brute.” Shelly said gently petting Brute’s head and then looked at the one with the scar, “This is Scar, he’s the second born the one behind you is Hiss, he’s the youngest and this one is Snap he’s in the middle… They are my brothers, my protectors and my family.”

Snap chattered something and Shelly smiled. “No Snap… but thank you for the offer.” She said and Snap gave a soft hiss and them settled himself down on what Jess assumed was a bed.

“How can you understand them? How can they understand you?” Jess asked. “I have never seen anyone talk to a Xenomorph much less for them to respond…”

“Why do you care? People like you just want to take them away and kill them and put me back in a cell.” Shelly said as Scar gently nuzzled her and petted him softly.

“No, Shelly I didn’t want that, Yen did.” Jess said, “I joined this unit as a means to insure the safety of you and any other survivors.” She explained, “I have the authority from Mr. Weyland to keep survivors comfortable and happy and if you want them to go with you, then that is what I will make happen, but so long as Yen is in charge he believes he has final say and he has a deep hatred for Xenomorphs.”

“Then he shouldn’t be here.” Shelly said with a deep growl and Jess watched as Scar walked towards her slowly and started to circle her, searching for any hidden weapons Hiss might have missed before nudging her further into the room and then settled on his own bed close to the door. “He has no right to hurt my brothers or try and septate us…” She added hugging Brute as he gently nudged her cheek in comfort and softly he wiped tears away from her eyes. “I am not leaving this place or them. Never ever… this is our home… and we will not leave.” 

“But why?” Jess asked, “Why chose this place over a nice warm facility where people can care for you. Where you are understood by others?” 

“Because,” Shelly growled and looked at Jess. “I am not human anymore, I am not even part of the Davidson family anymore because of that bastard… He did this to me because I was weak, because I couldn’t fight him off…” She growled and Jess watched as Brute gently nuzzled her and chattered softly. 

Shelly seemed to calm a little and wiped her face. “It doesn’t matter anymore… I am strong now and I have help from those who understand me far better than him or you or anyone… They will never leave me… I have a family that loves me now and I don’t need anyone else.” 

“But Shelly… If you do stay here and things keep going bad… People will be hurt… You will be hurt… Your brothers will be hurt.” Jess said, “Please, just... give me a few days… if I can get the plans sorted, I’m sure we can make this better… get you real food and real care.”

“I don’t need anything from you.” Shelly said and put a hand on Brute’s head. “They care for me, they look after me and they protect me… I don’t need anyone else.” She added.

“Shelly… if you do this you could die.” Jess said.

“Shelly Davidson is already dead, she died in her cell.” Shelly said. “Go back to the soldiers and tell them to leave, I will allow the innocent and unaware to leave. If they value their lives they will run.” She added.

“Shelly…”

“Go.” Shelly stated. “Or you will be found dead with the rest of the fools who dared to hurt me and my family.” She added. “Scar will show you the way out.” 

Scar stood from his bed and almost politely waited for Jess at the entrance of the chamber.

Reluctantly Jess left, using her torch to see where she was stepping as Scar used his tail to guild her pausing when he spotted her abandoned Guns only to watch in some confusion when she didn’t pick them back up.

Once back at the vent where she had come in, Scar gave her a nudge towards the open shaft and then turned to leave her.

“Scar.”

He looked back, cocking his head slightly in a silent question of what she wanted. 

“Please... tell her I’m sorry.” Jess asked and slowly Scar nodded.

\----------

Slowly, hours became days and no one was able to figure out why people were still disappearing or why those same people turned up dead in disused service rooms, mutilated and disfigured. 

Jess and some other soldiers had begun evacuating the elderly and young families who were starting to get scared, but Jess was no fool, she kept a close eye on the vents and knew that at least one Xenomorph was watching the ships leave.

And true to her words, Shelly allowed many innocent people to leave. Though it seemed the power was going faulting, leaving a handful of scientists locked in their rooms…

The last ship was due to leave in just under and hour when Jess saw movement in the very corner of her eye and turned slowly, watching as a familiar black form walked over the ceiling, following a blond woman and her daughter.

She cleared her throat and politely stopped the woman. “Paper work please miss.”

“Mrs… Mrs Davidson.” The mother stated and handed over her papers and her child’s. 

“Davidson?” Jess asked and glanced up in time to see Brute and also Scar stop overhead, waiting and watching. “Ma’am are you aware we have been searching for a Mr. Davidson since arrival?” she asked.

“My husband? Why?” the woman asked.

“He is wanted for questioning about money laundering from Weyland Corp.” Jess said, “I’m going to have to ask that you and your daughter remain here for further questions the ship will wait for you.” She said.

“But this… This cannot be right…” the woman said as she was led away by two more officers and Jess, after handing the papers to Yen, excused herself to the toilets.

She locked the door and waited to be sure she was not followed and sure enough she heard movement in the small vent above her. “Shelly?”

“That child has my doll. I want it back.” Shelly hissed.

“Where is your Father?” Jess asked.

“Locked off in the higher levels. Hiss and Snap are watching him, now do yourself a favour and stay out of this.”

“Shelly she is a child… you can’t kill her…” Jess said.

“I won’t.” Shelly said, “I just want me Doll… the red head Doll my mother made me… get that for me and they can leave without harm.” She assured before moving away.

Jess sighed and then straightened and after washing her hands and face, she moved out of the bathroom and headed to the interview room, where Mrs. Davidson was being spoken too and her daughter was sat by the door, playing with two small dolls, both looked hand made, but one looked much older than the other.

Red hair flowering from under a pretty white bonnet to match the white apron that covered a blue and yellow dress, soft black felt shoes covered the doll’s round feet and the face seemed to be smiling.

“Hello. What’s your name?” Jess smiled and knelt before the child. 

“Becky.” The girl answered.

“What a pretty name.” Jess smiled, “They look very special to you.” She said nodding to the two dolls.

“Papa gave them too me.” Becky smiled, showing the two dolls to Jess.

She smiled. “Do they have names?” She asked, carefully shaking the hands of both dolls.

“This one is Jane. My favourite.” Becky said nodding to the second doll, a blond haired doll with a pretty red dress and on. “And this is Mary, Papa says she is too old for me, but I like her.” 

“Well, would you mind if I take a look at them both? Just for a moment. They need to be scanned by a special machine so we can let you take them on the ship.” 

“Ok.” Becky smiled and handed the dolls over.

Jess smiled and carefully placed both dolls down in separate trays slowly sending them through a machine, the Jane doll went first, harmlessly passing under a bright green beam that scanned her and printed off a picture of the dolls insides.

Jess looked carefully at the images and nodded, handing Jane back to Becky. “All clear.” She smiled and then scanned Mary.

An alarm went off. “Oh dear,” Jess said looking at the scanned picture.

“What’s wrong?” Becky asked.

Jess sighed “It seems, Mary is sick...” She said showing Becky the image, showing several areas of dull red. “These areas are where Mary has something very bad inside her, I’m afraid that means that she can’t go on the ship with you.”

“Will you make her better then sent her to me?” Becky asked.

“I will try.” Jess smiled, looking up as Mrs. Davidson came out and quickly picked Becky up and headed off to the ship with her. “Bye Becky.”

“Bye lady.” The child waved and hugged Jane close as they boarded the ship.

After the ship had left, Yen noticed Jess working on what he thought was decontaminating the doll and shook his head, “What is she doing now,” he growled taking the time to watch as Jess carefully scanned the doll over and over, until at last the light stayed green and the scan result was shown as clear.

Sometime later, Jess went to the store room and searched for a small box and after neatly wrapping the doll in paper to offer it some protection she began to write on the box, sealing it and placing it on a shelf as her comm began to bleep at her, calling her away from the store room.

The Store room door clicked closed and within a matter of seconds, the box with the doll inside it was snatched up and taken into the vents.

\----------

Brute watched silently as Shelly all but tore the box in half and retrieved her doll, holding it close to her chest like a precious child. ~ “It means a lot to you.” ~ He observed.

“Mother made her for form… so she’d always be with me… I thought he’d destroyed when he threw me in the cell.” Shelly admitted tenderly running her claws hands over the doll’s fabric face.

~ “What shall we do now my Queen?” ~ Scar asked as Shelly delicately placed her Doll down in her bed.

“Now, we get rid of the ones who stayed.” Shelly said. “Teach me how to use this new body to do what you do.” She said.

Brute and Scar looked at each other and then nodded. ~ “We start with the basics.” ~ Brute stated and gently nudged Shelly to follow them.


	4. Chapter Three Lost Innocence.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shelly is no longer the innocent child she once was, now she is becoming a Queen and to do that, she has to breed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO SORRY this took so long to come guys, I know some of you have been waiting forever for this, but life and reality has just been so unkind to me recently that I haven't had the time or energy to write much for this story.
> 
> So here you have it, chapter 3 of my Alien story. 
> 
> Please enjoy and be nice with the comments.

\----------  
Chapter Three  
Lost Innocence.

The station grew darker and duller over the following weeks, the systems starting to break down and cause lack of air in some places, total loss of the artificial gravity in other areas and in one section all the doors had been locked down and were too heavy to be opened again without someone fixing the apparent power issue.

The first body that showed up was badly mutilated and cut with some kind of sharp object no one could identify, the wrists and ankles looked to have been held tightly while the killing took place.

Sergeant Li Yen had thrown up when he first saw the body, as it had been found in a dark room where there appeared to have been some kind of struggle before a long and painful death, judging by the fact the man had not only defecated himself some time before death, it seemed he had also tried to get away from the attackers, resulting in damage to his hands and finger nails. 

“Shelly couldn’t have done this.” Jess said as she looked over the report pages, “She’s hardly got strength enough to walk without help.”

“We don’t know what she’s capable of, that fucker father of hers didn’t keep detailed reports on what he did to her and we have no details on what any Xenomorphs can do either.” Yen sighed. “This is not going to look good in my reports.”

“Fuck your reports.” Jess said, “Weyland isn’t going to let you write about any of this, they’ll just sweep it under the rug and forget it. While they send Shelly off to be tested and treated like another test subject.”

“Why so unhappy with that? It’s best for her now she’s a freak.” Yen stated.

“You ass.” Jess spat.

“As long as she has the Xenomorphs with her, she’s not gonna be easy to find or capture.” The medic stated as he looked over the paper reports and over the fuzzy and partly damaged recording of the body being found. “We’ll need to get her alone if we are going to get her out of this place.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Jess asked.

“We kill the Xenomorphs.” Yen stated, “And then we drag that little bitch to the ship and get her to her new facility.” He added and flicked the safety off on his weapons. “Let’s go.”

\----------

Shelly yawned and stretched out in her bed, scratching the back of her crest lightly as she looked around. Hiss was curled at her feet hissing now and then as he slept while Snap lay beside her with his tail draped over her protectively as he also slept.

Scar was already awake over by the far wall, carefully weaving resin around the sharp edges of a vent to keep it from scratching or cutting any of them when they used it to come and go.

“Where is Brute?” She asked while rubbing her eyes.

“Brute is keeping an eye on the Humans, Little Queen.” Scar explained pausing his work and bowing his head to her. “He said to make sure you slept as long as you wished and insure you were safe.” He added.

Shelly blinked and then smiled. “I understand you.” She said. “I didn’t hear you in my head this time.” 

Scar gave a hissing purr and moved closer, lightly nuzzling her as Hiss woke up and stretched.

“Morning Hiss.”

“Good morning Little Queen.” Hiss greeted and began to search for something for her to eat in the pile of food they had stored up. “We need to go scavenging again.” he stated as he brought her the last package of rations.

“Maybe not.” Scar said as he looked around their new home, a large space in the vents just a few turns away from where the remaining Humans were being herded to for easier targets.

“What do you mean?” Shelly asked.

“You can understand us now perhaps that also means your stomach can handle more than these human rations.” Scar explained and flicked his tail to the entrance he had been covering, it actually lead to a small wash room that Shelly could use to wash herself clean after their first lesson, it had been messy and Shelly didn’t want to go to sleep covered in blood. “When Brute returns we shall all talk about this, but for now eat and enjoy a moment to yourself Little Queen.”

“Thank you Scar.” Shelly smiled and then chuckled as Snap rolled over in his sleep and began to swipe the air as if trying to catch something. “Cute.” She said as she washed her claws and face.

“He is still young.” Brute said as he returned and set down a few new blankets and pillows he had found. “Did you sleep well my Queen?” he asked.

“I did and I can understand you now.” She smiled, and took a seat on her throne, “Scar says that could mean I can start eating more than the rations.”

“Scar’s right.” Brute said, “But only if you wish,” he added and settled beside her. “We Xenomorphs can eat anything, but we didn’t wish to scare you or worse, hurt you by rushing you into eating before you were ready.” He explained.

“Because you eat the humans you encase?” Shelly asked and Brute nodded. “How does that work?” She asked.

“After we have encased them in resin eggs, they are slowly turned into a type of jelly like goo we can consume, if you are also able to eat it, it will help you develop more as a Xenomorph Queen.” Brute explained, “You will become stronger, and your crest will grow to form a true Queen’s crowning cress.”

“And if it doesn’t work?” Shelly asked.

“Then we shall have to wait until we can form Royal Jelly, that will help you develop faster, but Royal Jelly is hard to make and we can only give you so much without it becoming harmful.” Brute explained.

Shelly nodded in understanding and let Brute lead her to where the Humans the Xenomorphs caught and used to make their food were being held inside large resin eggs, one of them was shaking lightly, as if the human inside was struggling still but Shelly knew that once you were inside a resin egg there was no escaping it.

One egg was still and had been for a long time Scar was already beside that egg, carefully opening the top to release what looked like steam from the egg before he reached in and scooped some of the goo from inside. It was sticky like fresh honey, but there was a hint of white to the goo and this goo had a slightly bitter scent to it, unlike the Royal Jelly they had fed her when they had first met what now seemed so long ago.

“We have enough to start a Hive.” Scar stated moving away to allow Brute and Shelly to climb up to join him. “The last three humans we caught will soon begin to dissolve.”

“And they will fill the eggs like this?” Shelly asked as she looked at the almost overflowing go inside the egg.

“Almost.” Scar said, “Everything but the oxygen inside the humans can be made into this kind of food for us.” He added and gave a soft hiss as Shelly scooped a small amount of the goo up for herself.

It was warm, and Shelly remembered the days with her mother when she had been helping make fresh bread dough, without really thinking about it she brought goo to her lips and ate some.

It wasn’t bitter, and had a very subtle hint of flavour to it, like the after taste one gets after eating a cucumber or an onion the texture was something akin to jelly as it went down, leaving her throat tingling pleasantly.

“Do you like it?” Scar asked.

“It tastes different,” Shelly nodded, “But it is pleasant.”

“And we will see if it had worked tomorrow.” Brute smiled in his way, lightly hissing at her, “For now, let us go and see about your second lesson.” He added and led her away, smiling as she followed him with a practiced ease.

She had come a long way, from that scared child they had cared for and nursed back to health to the young woman she was now despite still being under weight and somewhat underdeveloped, Brute and Scare had done all they could to insure she was healthy, and that her Xenomorph heritage was taking a steady but firm root inside her. Soon she would be ready, but before that happened, Brute knew she wanted to take her revenge against the man who had hurt her so much before she moved on to new things and so, Brute, Scar, Hiss and Snap were teaching her how to stalk and hunt the humans that were caught close to them and practice the techniques to torture and kill.

Their first lesson had been fun, while Brute and Shelly watched from a safe distance, Scar had lead Hiss and Snap into a hunt and they had demonstrated the many ways to scare a human into soiling themselves without actually hurting them, then after choosing a target at random, Brute and Scar had cornered and restrained one of the scientists that had worked with the Madman, allowing Hiss and Snap to teach Shelly the best places to cut and slice the skin to not only inflict maximum pain, but also to prolong the torment of the captor.

When Shelly had got the hang of those moves, they had taught her how to use her tail to break bones with a swift strike and how to incapacitate someone who was running away or towards her, using the ruined and dead body of the man they had caught.

He and Scar had kept the body for themselves when Shelly had gone to sleep. Ripping at the flesh and muscle until the body was nothing more than a bloody mess and left it where the humans could find it, as a means to scare them more. 

And now it was time for another lesson, a lesson in tracking that would help Shelly find her desired targets with ease.

\----------

“I don’t care how long it takes, just find the bastard and bring him here!” Sergeant Li Yen snarled into his comm. “That little bitch will come for him eventually and that will be when we grab her and kill the rest.”

Jess sighed, the plan was simple, but she could see so many flaws with it if just the smallest thing went wrong. For example, the idea that Shelly would know that her father was found and being moved from his prison, or the fact that she could and would know all the best ways behind any trap that was set in the corridors.

This plan would fail, Jess knew it.

She just didn’t say anything; she didn’t need to as most other soldiers knew that the idea would somehow fail with how poorly it seemed to be planned. And yet, something seemed off about the Sergeant’s certainty that the plan would work.

He was up to something, and while Jess wanted to know what, she didn’t have the rank to stop him and demand answers.

She followed him and a few others as they searched out any one who could be saved, only to find many of their once clear corridors were now dark and filled with a terrible smell. 

The station was going to hell and it was as if Shelly found such horrors comforting. 

“Movement.” A Marine said softly before a pained scream echoed around them. “Shit!”

“Move!” Yen snarled and opened fire as they rounded the cornor, only to find a bloody scene before him, the body of what had once been a man lay slumped in the corner and he caught sight of the retreating movement into the vent on the ceiling with telling laugh of a young girl amongst the hissing of Xenomorph. “Little bitch!”

Jess sighed and looked over the body. “Scientist, likely one who worked with the bastard that did this to her,” She said.

“Find him and drag his sorry ass here. We’re running out of time.” Yen snarled and stormed off.

Jess sighed, and after taking a moment to have the body moved to a place where it wouldn’t be in the way, she leant back against the wall and rubbed her face. 

This was going to end badly, she knew it and so she snuck away to a console and began to type something rapidly, recording a message before hitting a few more keys and then left the console to its work.

\----------

Shelly smiled as she cleaned the blood off her tail tip with a wet clothe, chuckling as Hiss shook himself like a dog to dry himself, making her laugh as the water tickled her.

“You are getting better, Little Queen,” Scar chattered softly as she came out,, struggling to pull her shirt back on. “You are uncomfortable?” he asked. 

“I need new clothes...” She sighed.

“Then let us go and find some.” Brute said, “We have time and we are safe to wonder.” He assured with a gentle hiss.

“You haven’t told me about how to be a Queen,” Shelly said as she followed Brute and Scar while Hiss and Snap disappeared into the vents to eat. 

“It is a simple sounding idea, but due to the situations and circumstances of your coming to us, we have all been unsure of whether or not to tell you everything at once or let you develop more and explain as we go.” Brute admitted. “For you to be a Queen, you need a Hive, a place where you can breed with your chosen and give birth to new life, children of your own. And to make a Hive you need safety, security and protection from anyone or anything that would do you harm.”

“Breed?” Shelly asked.

Brute nodded, “It is not something we want to force you into,” he went on, “Breeding is a sign of a true Queen’s power, but if not done with your consent, it can leave you with lasting pains and so, we have agreed it better to let you grow on your own before we spoke of breeding. You are a Queen to us even if you have not yet taken a chosen and established yourself as one properly.” 

“Why do I need to establish myself?” She asked.

“A Queen must have a brood to show her place in the Hive, if she doesn’t, another Queen or even a strong male may think he can kill her and take her place as leader,” Scar explained before carefully lifting a vent from the floor, “Here we are.”

“Where?” Shelly asked then smiled as she climbed down and found a room full of many colourful clothes.

“The humans put these here, we don’t know why.” Scar explained, “But maybe here you will find something more comfortable.” He added.

Shelly nodded and searching through the clothes, finding a large grey baggy t-shirt with no holes in it and a pair of denim shorts that fit much better than her current pants. 

Scar and Brute busied themselves with searching for any cameras while Shelly ripped the old clothes off and changed into the new ones she’d found smiling as they already felt much better and far more comfortable. She also found some other clothes she liked the look of, some big t-shirts, a jacket that had a warm feel to it and some more baggy pants before they left, leaving the room and headed back to their home.

“My Queen!” Hiss screeched as he ran into the room, skidding to a stop before her as his tail lashed side to side with anger. “They’re moving him! They are moving the Scientists!” 

“What!?” Shelly hissed.

“We saw them,” Snap explained as he came in, “That man from before, with the guns, he was moving the scientists away from the place we left them!”

Brute hissed, “They are searching for the madman.” He stated.

“Then let’s make sure they find him.” Shelly stated. “Dead, bloody and broken. The way he left me in that cell.” She added with a deep hiss that made Snap and Hiss back away from her slightly.

Realizing she had scared them, Shelly felt shocked at her own words and looked at Brute. “I didn’t-”

“Do not worry, my Queen.” Brute soothed softly, “Hiss and Snap are young, they hadn’t known a Queen’s fury or command as Scar and I have. They will learn your anger is not aimed at them when you establish yourself. But that can wait until we have your tormentor imprisoned here, where you may take your time repaying him for all the pains he ever caused you.”

\----------

Jess paused, her finger on the trigger and her motion aim steady. It had been hours since they’d found the dead scientist and now they knew where Mr. Davidson was, they were going to find him.

But it seemed they were not the only ones.

She could hear movement behind and above her; the faint sound of claws on metal was a giveaway that something was there. And by the sound of things on her tracker, there were five of them.

“Shelly?” she asked quietly.

“You should have left.” Shelly told her. “Now I have to kill you too.”

“You could just go to the new facility.” Jess said. “No one has to die.”

“EVERYONE has to die!” Shelly hissed, “They helped him do this to me! They made me like this and then they tried to kill me, to act like I never existed! I will not be ignored or abused anymore,” She added and the sharp glint of a tail flashed nearby Jess. 

“Shelly wait! Please!”

No answer came and before Jess could open a comm. To speak, the sound of screaming was heard a few yards away and Jess hurried towards it, skidding to a stop as Yen forced the door to the room open only to see Mr. Davidson being dragged away into the floor vent, kicking and screaming in fury and panic.

Jess heard a hissing sound and turned in time to see Hiss and Snap lunging at the Medic and another Marine, their inner mouths shooting out to bite through their helmets and rip a chunk of their brains out, their tails striking over the hearts with ease.

Shelly dropped down from the vents between Snap and Hiss, her own tail striking out and cutting cleanly into the neck of another Marine, ripping their air way and jugular apart as she slashed the chest of another with her claws. 

“Stop it Shelly!” Jess pleaded as she raised her weapon at the young girl. “You’ll be killed if you do this!”

“You had your chance to leave,” Shelly’s hiss was cold and her eyes were dark, devoid of any emotion beyond rage and hatred. “You should have taken it.” She added and her tail came up, lashing against the gun in Jess’s hands and smacking it away before she cut into Jess’s shoulder and chest. 

“Shelly please!” jess hissed as the young girl stepped forwards. “Please don’t make me do this! You’re just a kid!”

“I am not a child. I am a Queen and I do not need the help of weak, uncaring, heartless Humans like you. I have my brothers and soon, I will have all I want in this world.”

“Shelly-”

Snap hissed in warning before Shelly ducked and turned, smacking her tail against the burning gun in the Sergeant’s hands, sweeping his legs with her feet, watching with a please smile as Snap grabbed the man with his tail and threw him further down the corridor. 

“Kill them all.” Shelly hissed, and Jess watched Hiss and Snap start to cut down her fellow Marines. “Every one of them, I want them all dead!!” 

“Shelly...”

Shelly turned to Jess as the woman struggled to her feet, and then without pause, she brought her tail down and cut into Jess’s chest, piercing her heart and then left her to fall.

She didn’t see the small button Jess pressed before she died.

\----------

Brute looked up from his work restraining the Madman in resin when he heard the vents echo with a familiar ‘hissing’ and ‘snap-snap’ sound.

Snap dropped down first, covered from head to tail tip in blood and other manners of human fluid, but he didn’t head for the wash room and instead moved aside to allow Shelly to fall out of the vent gracefully, landing beside Snap as Hiss slowly lowered himself down, his left arm bleeding and part of his tail missing.

“Are you alright?” Brute asked, Scar taking his place as he moved closer to check on his brothers and Queen. “What happened?”

“They brought out a new weapon, a cutting kind that burned... It did this to me.” Hiss explained, “I did not let them get our Queen.” He said, letting Brute lead him to his nest and start to tend the injuries.

“Is he awake?” Shelly asked looking at the room Brute had been in, watching Scar finish restraining the man that had made her life hell so long ago.

“Not yet, we may have hit his head a little too hard.” Scar admitted, bowing his head down as low as it would go, as if to apologize.

Shelly shook her head, lightly [petting Scar’s domed head. “As long as he isn’t dead, I don’t care.” She told him, “If he wakes and starts to insult you hurt him, but do not kill him.” She added.

“My Queen,” Snap called softly as he offered her a clean cloth with the very tips of his claws.

Shelly smiled, “Thank you Snap.” She smiled as she headed to the wash room to clean the blood off her body and try to clean it from her clothes.

Hiss limped in a few minutes later, his injuries covered in thick resin as she began to gently wash the blood of the humans off him. “Thank you for saving me, Hiss.” She said, “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

“It is nothing.” Hiss assured with a gently nudge to his Queen’s hand. “As long as you are alright, we will be alright.” He said. “Brute says that as long as we have a Queen, everything will be ok, we can make a real hive and everything bad will be good.” He added.

“Brute’s right.” Shelly smiled. “We’ll start making a Hive when the Madman is dealt with.” She assured, “Now open up and let me wash your mouth.” Hiss nodded and let his inner jaw slowly slip out and allowed Shelly to carefully wipe the blood and tissue from the teeth.

Brute watched from the door way, a soft chattering coming from his as Shelly finished washing the mess inside Hiss’s mouth and then finished washing her own body, drying off with a clean towel and redressing before she came out again, the few strands of hair she still had slightly clinging to her face but she swiftly swept them back out of the way before taking a seat on her throne and began to swing her legs slightly.

It would soon be time for her to start breeding as a Queen, he could smell it in the air, the small amounts of goo they had let her eat were working very well and the Xenomorph genes her madman father had forced into her were hours away from finalizing.

He could feel the change in her every time she was close to him, she smelt like a Queen, she behaved like a Queen, and she was starting to speak like one, there was a command to her tone now that hadn’t been there before and her self confidence was improved.

It would soon be time.

\----------

~“I sent you there to contain the situation and bring the Subject to heel, not to laze off your duty and let this situation get out of hand!”~ His boss snarled at him.

“But sir-”

~“I am sending in the heavy hitters the real ones this time, you have clearly lost your edge Li Yen. And I cannot afford anymore losses.”~ and with that the connection was cut off.

The Sergeant hissed and smashed down the screen. “Son of a bitch!”

\----------

Shelly woke with a slight tickling feeling in her stomach, it wasn’t unpleasant but it was new and so she rested a hand to her stomach over the tickling sensation and waited a moment to see what happened.

After a moment or two, the tickling moved and spread over her whole body and she felt warm all over, like a sudden fever setting on, but she didn’t feel ill. She looked around and found Scar, Snap and Hiss were gone, Brute was the only one there with her, and he was sat up on his hind legs, making adjustments to her throne.

“Brute?”

“Yes my Queen?” He asked and instantly turned to focus on her.

“I feel strange.” She told him. “All tickly and hot... is that normal?”

Brute seemed to think and then made a soothing and assuring hiss, moving closer to her. “It is normal, My Queen, but only if you are ready.” He said.

“Ready?” Shelly asked. “Ready for what?” she asked.

“Breeding.” Brute said, plainly and bluntly as he put a hand to her shoulder, “the feeling you have is your body’s natural behaviour, telling you that you are ready to take a male and breed with him to create a brood, your own children for the Hive. Once they are born, they will grow and help us make this place a proper Hive for you to rule over.”

“But... I don’t know how to breed...” Shelly said.

“It is not a scary thing,” Brute soothed softly. “And if you allow, I will be your first chosen and teach you how to breed.”

Shelly was quiet for a while, and Brute sat with her, one hand on her shoulder and his tail slowly swaying back and forth behind him, patient and calm as he waited for her to answer. 

“It... It won’t hurt me, will it?” She asked after what seemed like forever. “When... When I have a brood, it won’t hurt me, like he did.” She added looking towards where the madman was being held in a separate room.

“It will sting and may possibly hurt if you aren’t prepared for it.” Brute said honestly, “But we are here, My Queen and we will make sure the pain is minimal.”

“And, you wouldn’t hurt me.” Shelly said though she sounded more than assured of that fact rather than she was asking him to tell her that. “Did you know I would be ready to breed like this?” she asked.

Brute nodded. “Your scent changes as you get closer to breeding,” he admitted honestly and gently pressed his domed head to hers, his tail curling around her shoulders. “Scar took Hiss and Snap hunting to make sure we had enough food, as the first brood is always hungry and will eat more than others to insure they grow quickly.”

Shelly smiled and nodded. “Then, show me what to do.”

\----------

‘This is Lieutenant Jessica Helm of the 677 Squadron, Marines employed by W.Y Corp to find and transport cargo from Hailstorm station in sector 8-9-7-7-7 to new facility in the Lightstone system. We encountered Xenomorph activity and discovered that the cargo was a child. Shelly Davidson, daughter of Dr. Davidson, has been used by the Doctors and Scientists here as a test subject, forced to undergo torments and torture beyond anything I have seen before and now she is changed, she is becoming a ‘Queen’ she says, a Queen of the Xenomorphs.’

Somewhere far away, lost in a galaxy of unknown stars, a ship silently cut through the darkness, its crew silent as they listened to the words of an S.O.S Signal, broadcasting from a remote station made and run by humans.

“So Weyland fucked up another child’s life,” One crew member stated with a deep huff.

“Seems to be their specialty.” Another said, her own voice deep and gruff.

“Do we help them?” A third asked and all eyes turned to the captain’s seat as their captain listened carefully over and over to the signal.

‘I don’t know what this means, or how it happened. But I do know that if Sergeant Li Yen has his way, Shelly Davidson will die here. She doesn’t deserve that and so I am broadcasting this signal in hope it reached those who can help her.

God forgive me, but I can’t see a child like her hurt for some bastard like Weyland.

Please, if you hear this and can offer her help. I beg you. Save her.’

“Captain?” A creature asked, his mandibles clicking slightly.

“We do not help.” The woman stated. “If this child comes our way, we will meet her with the same code we met the Queens on earth. If she does not, we leave her to take her revenge on these fools.” 

“Aye.” 

The captain looked towards the stars and smiled. “Enjoy your revenge, little one. But play carefully with this fire. It will burn hotter then you think if you mistreat it.” She thought to herself and then commanded her ship and crew towards their own goal.

After all, Weyland had many enemies out here. What good would it do to make and enemy of a fellow child of Weyland’s meddling?

\----------

Shelly winced a little trembling as Brute moved his clawed fingers inside her, it felt strange and a little uncomfortable, but it was quickly becoming pleasant and the sting was fading fast as Brute lightly nuzzled her and stroked at her head crest, hissing soothingly as he moved his fingers at a steady pace, pushing them in and then pulling them out steadily as she held onto him with trembling claws.

He had laid her on her back in her bed, loosely curling his tail around hers, one hand lightly brushing and rubbing her head crest while the other had worked to remove the shorts she was wearing, one sharp claw tip delicately circling her entrance so as not to accidently cut her.

That made the heat and tickling sensation flood down to where his claw was, making Shelly feel hot faced and suddenly shy, though she didn’t know why and before she could ask, Brute had bent his head closer and began to nuzzle and lightly drag his inner jaw’s teeth over her neck, the sensation was odd but not unpleasant and helped to sooth what little fear remained in Shelly’s mind.

She’d thought the slight poking against her stomach had been part of Brute’s body and so paid it little mind until she realized the poking sensation left a small dampness on her skin, “Are you hurting?” She managed to asked.

“No, My Queen.” He assured and paused his rubbing of her crest to take one of her hands lightly and guild it between them, “It is normal for males to become erect while preparing a Queen for her Breeding.” He explained as he placed her hand over a part of his body that felt stiff and hard, but responded with a twitch at the contact. “You won’t hurt me My Queen, my body is solid and full Xenomorph, where as yours still has some soft human parts, we cannot change that, but it does mean that any male you take in the future must be gentle with you, as I am.” He explained.

Shelly nodded in understanding, absently rubbing the length with her hand as Brute resumed his work, gentle pumping his fingers into her while his other hand returned to caressing her crest. 

\----------

A hissing sound made Sergeant Yen twist, gun drawn and ready to fire on-

Nothing. No Xenomorph, No human. Just him.

Another hiss and he turned, but again there was nothing there.

Then with a growing sense of dread, he looked up and aimed his gun at the scar headed Xenomorph above him only to realize his gun wasn’t loaded.

“Oh Shit!”

Scar watched as Hiss and Snap lunched at the man below him, his tail calmly wrapping around his foot once they had done with him and dragged him off to be placed in an egg for later.

He would have to warn Brute that more humans were coming and that the Queen wouldn’t be safe if they were not ready. But for now, he had lots of hunting to do and allow Brute time to teach their Queen how to breed and prepare her for the birth of her first brood.

\----------

Shelly wasn’t sure when things changed, when Brute had rolled her onto her stomach and used his tail to practically tie her to him or when he had pushed his length, hard and leaking some kind of stickiness inside her, but she knew it didn’t hurt her, the sensation was pleasant and made the heat inside her grow but the tickling it gave her the warmth and all the gentle caressing and nuzzling he was covering her with was welcome and felt... 

She didn’t have words for how it felt, all she knew was that whatever he was doing made her feel good inside and any pain that had been there before was gone now.

“Soon my Queen... Soon you will carry a brood,” Brute told her softly as his tail tightened around her and he began to move with a faster pace, the heat starting to swell and build more inside her.

“Yes...” She hissed softly, her claws clutching the sheets of her bed as he moved inside her, leaving her panting and struggling to form words, though there was no pain, she felt dizzy and light headed.

Brute’s pace grew faster and faster until Shelly could feel a slight burn against her skin as he moved so fast, but it wasn’t painful or unpleasant to the point where she’d ask him to stop, it made the heat inside her more intense and the tickling sensation was starting to overwhelm her, leaving her limbs tired and trembling as her body shook and trembled in Brute’s arms and tail.

He held her against him, still moving within her until his grip tightened again around her, letting out a long hissing snarl as his length twitched inside her as she clung to his arms, weak and panting as he pushed as far inside her as he could and something hot filled her.

Brute fell forwards, rolling to lay on his side but remained pushed deep inside Shelly as she panted and trembled in his arms as he lightly reached up and began to pet her crest again. 

“I haven’t... hurt you my Queen?” he asked.

Shelly shook her head making a soft mumbled sound that sounded like a no, “I’m ok... just... feels different... and warm inside.” She said between pants. “Wh... what now?” she asked.

“Now we wait,” Brute hissed softly as he very carefully he loosened his tail from around her and pulled his length from within her with a wet sounding ‘pop’ though nothing seemed to leak out of her or him anymore.

“How long?” Shelly asked.

“That depends on how many young are forming inside you and how warm they are.” Scar’s voice explained as he, Hiss and Snap returned, Hiss and Snap both curling up at either side of Shelly’s bed though both stayed just out of arms reach of Brute. “As you are human, at least partly, your body can hold more heat than we can and thus, you need only to stay in a warm place until the brood is ready to be birthed,” he added.

“Where are you going Brute?” Shelly asked as Brute moved away.

“I must hunt for myself, my Queen. But you needn’t worry, Scar will tend to you while I am away.” He assured and Scar nodded, climbing into bed with Shelly as Brute left them to sleep and rest.

Scar could smell the mating on Shelly but he said nothing, soon the Queen would have her first brood and then, they could have their own Hive, where they would go from there was up to Shelly, but for now, Scar was happy to know his Queen was safe and they would soon be a Hive, and Shelly may yet chose him to sire her next brood.

And that, Scar smiled in his way, gently nuzzling Shelly as she drifted off to sleep, would be the greatest thanks he could ask for from his Queen,


	5. Chapter 4 Metal Men and Cages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter and all others to follow are now BETA READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
> HUGE thank you to my new beta reader, The_Specialist.

The birthing had been quick, but not as painless as Brute had promised.

The young had come out of her so fast that even though each new born had been covered in a small sack that had helped them leave her body, the sharp spikes of their tails had caught her skin and left her with a burning sting between her legs.

She'd tried not to cry, but Brute had known she was in pain and after tending her, he'd shuffled away from her with his head bowed and his tail low, unable to bare that he had been the cause of her pain.

Scar had stayed with her when Brute had gone hunting with Hiss and Snap, chattering and helping the little ones shed their birthing skins as she watched them, yellow and pinking soft skin flaking off like dead skin after a bad sunburn, hardening and darkening until it was black and hard like an adult Xenomorph.

"Fifteen." Scar hissed softly as he moved between his Hive mates, inspecting them as they stood before her throne, tails low and heads bowed. "A good size brood Little Queen." He assured with a proud nod, moving to lay at her side.

"Are there enough humans left to feed us all?" She asked.

"Yes My Queen and we have enough eggs to last us a long time while we finish turning this place into a Hive." Scar nodded, "It's just a case of hunting the strays down. An easy task now there are more of us."

"And there will be more?" Shelly asked. "More Broods I mean."

"Only if you desire it." Scar said, "I cannot breed with you until you are healed and Brute steps down." 

"What do you mean?" Shelly asked, scratching her arms lightly with her claws, "Steps down as what?"

"If he and I were from the same brood, this would not matter but as we are not," Scar shook his head, chuffing softly. "As the oldest males of our group, Brute and I are not just your guards Little Queen, we are your Breeding mates as well. Usually there is no reason to challenge for the rites to Breeding with the Queen but because Brute is from one brood and I the next, we are bound by a Hierarchy. Even if you offered yourself to me now, I would have to fight Brute until he either submitted or died to prove I was worthy of siring the next brood you have."

"I don't understand." Shelly said looking at him. "Why do you have to fight him if I want you to sire the next brood?"

"Because Brute is the Chosen King," Scar explained, "Without a Queen, we followed him and now we have a Queen, he has taken a place beside you. If I were to try and breed you now, I would be seen as a challenger to Brute by his Brood." He said and waved his tail to the young Xenomorphs as they watched the two speak in silence "They are loyal to you, and they will do as I order, but to them I am your Guard and Brute is Chosen King. It means that even if I order them to attack, Brute can call them off. Unless they witness Brute step down as King and you accept me as Chosen Breeder, any attempt I make to touch you, to seduce you is seen as a direct challenge to the Chosen King, they will go to him and bring him here not because they want to make us fight but because that is what we do on instinct."

"That's foolish." Shelly shook her head. "I don't want you to fight over me."

"And we won't." Scar assured, "I know my place, My Queen and I know that in time, Brute will realize you do not scorn him for his Brood hurting you and return to your side as I am."

"Why is he blaming himself?" She asked, her tail scraping at her back.

"It is instinct." Scar said, "We are driven by it. We can't change that in ourselves. He promised you that Breeding would not hurt and it did, that makes him angry in himself because he effectively told you a lie and that was part of the reason you allowed him to Breed with you. He is scared that you will reject him now."

"I couldn't reject him, or any of you. You've given me so much and taught me so much I owe all this to you," She stated shaking her head, "when he gets back here I have to tell him that. Is that why Hiss and Snap haven't come near me since my belly got swollen with the Brood?" Shelly asked. "Because of instinct?"

"Partly my Queen, when pregnant a Queen is tended by her guards and Chosen, not Drones. They become more driven to fortify the Hive and patrol more, so that they can show their loyalty to their Queen and prove they are ready to mentor any Drones that are born in the Brood itself." Scar nodded then pointed his tail to the back of the gathered young, "You three, come forwards." He hissed.

Slowly, three small Xenomorphs, each one with the same smaller domed like heads Hiss and Snapp had crawled forwards, heads bowed, lips flat and tails dragging behind them, they dared not come any further then the lowest step to her throne but even from there, Shelly could see they were not as strong as the others in her Brood.

"Snap and Hiss will likely come here soon and ask if they may become mentors to these three. Whereas the rest will follow Brute and I as Warriors."

"M-m-m-mot-t-t-t-t-ther?" A small, shivering voice asked and the entire Brood turned to see a small, black Xenomorph stood no taller than puppy, shaking from cold. "C-c-c-c-cold-d-d-d-d."

Shelly was off her throne so fast she almost stood on Scar's tail, scooping the littlest of her sons from the floor and held him to her chest, snatching the sheet from her bed and wrapped it around him. "There, there now," She soothed softly.

Scar came over, gently pushing his face against the tiny, shivering Xenomorph's body as Shelly stood gently rubbed the little one to try and warm him. "He is not sickly or weak, just small," he explained, "he will need to eat from the eggs as you do my Queen, then he will grow into his adult size as a human child would grow into maturity." Scar said, watching her carefully pet the smallest of her brood. "Sixteen new Hive Mates." He corrected himself.

Slowly the tiny Xenomorph stopped shivering and looked back over his brothers and Queen guard, quickly realizing he was not as big as them, he looked up at Shelly and asked. "What will I be, Mother? I am not big like a Warrior or Drone."

"You will be when you grow, little one." She assured carrying her son back to her throne, sitting him in her lap gently. "You will be just as big and as strong as your brothers, little son. I will raise you to be everything you can be and I will teach you the lessons your sire taught me. But for now, you will be my baby."

Scar hissed in a pleased way. "A Royal baby." He said and when the little one looked to him, he lowered his head in a bow hearing the Brood behind him do the same instantly.

"May I," The child asked as she cradled him. "May I have a name, Mother?" 

Shelly chuckled. "You will earn your name in time, my son." She promised and lightly ran her claw over the small one's back, much like one would a small kitten. "But for now, rest, you will need your strength later." She assured and then turned her attention the rest of her brood. "Go with Scar and explore your home, learn your paths and do not squabble, you will all have your turn to kill."

The brood bowed to her and Scar nodded, chattering and hissing orders as the Brood followed him into the tunnels, all the while the little Xenomorph lay in her lap, curled up and chattering softly as he dozed off.

He was too small to be useful right now, but she couldn�t see him outcast because of that. So she would raise him, teach him as she had been taught and love him as her son, he would be the proof that her father's evil hadn't turned her into a heatless monster.

The madman still hung, trapped in a chamber not three feet from her, tormented by Brute and Scar whenever he dared to begin his ravings and yelling curses at her, promising she would suffer worse when he somehow broke free.

She would have to deal with him soon. 

\----------

"Sir, we're getting limited life sign reading and we have had no response from Yen's teams." 

~ "They�re dead. And likely everyone else will be soon." ~ Their boss stated, ~ "Get in there, get the girl and the two biggest Xenomorphs, bring them to the new facility. If you cannot capture the rest, kill them." ~

"Yes sir." The leader nodded and then turned to the men and woman gathered at the large table in front of him, all dressed in lab coats and science uniforms, none of them soldiers. "Suggestions?" He asked.

"I say we send in twenty of the synthetics and make sure they understand that the child Queen and her two biggest Xenos are to be brought in alive. if the others resist they may injury or cripple them, but not kill them unless absolutely necessary." A man stated, with a heavy French accent as he looked over the data he had been given. 

"I agree." A woman nodded, a soft British accent coating her voice. "This child could be the key to fully understanding how a Hive works and how to properly intergrade them into our armies as useful weapons."

"But we must be careful," A German accented man stated. "The child is young, who knows how frail she may still be after years of abuse. We mustn't let her get hurt or hurt herself during this delicate transition." 

He cleared his throat. "So we send in the synthetics and see what kind of force we are facing before we go in ourselves. If need be, we will go in heavy to bring her in." he said, "I will not see my people used as bait to lure her out." 

"But Mr. Weyland said-"

"We are here to grab the girl and her two biggest pets beyond that, we'll call it a bonus." He stated firmly, silencing the Dutch accented woman from continuing. "You are lab coats, and thus, you will not be going down into that hell to bring the three targets aboard, I will and if I say we can only have those three because the rest are too hostile, then you'll get what you are given and that's that."

"Yes sir." The French man nodded and ushered the grumbling others out of the room.

"Lieutenant." A female voice spoke up and the man turned to the woman behind him. "Would you like me to being monitoring the brain wave activity of the already captive Xenomorphs?"

"Yes thank you Ellan. And keep us informed of any increase of violence or other changes in their behaviors." He said, "We can't have this Queen, child or not, ruining what we have managed to achieve so far."

"Yes sir." The woman nodded and then turned on her heel and walked calmly through the halls of the ship.

\----------

Snap dragged the body into the vent easily, a woman who had been trying to climb through a gap to reach the escape pods, a foolish idea but it had meant that they could eat well tonight.

They paused as Scar came around the bend closely followed by many others, all of who suddenly focused on the body the two drones had and one pushed forwards and cocked its head in question.

Snap hissed and chattered, stepping over the body and looking over the brood himself while using his tail to point to the vent tunnels that had been recently checked for food to Scar.

A loud and pained scream shattered the comforting atmosphere around them, but none of them paid any mind and moments later a dead man was dropped at the feet of Scar and Hiss soon followed the body with a proud chatter and a moment later, the three new Drones came from another tunnel with a third body.

First lessons were going well and together the brood dragged the bodies away, then stopped as they saw a huge shadow move ahead of them and peeked into the Queen's chambers, seeing Shelly was rubbing at her upper arms as if trying to warm herself for rid herself of an itch. 

Brute slowly walked towards her, his head low and his tail dragging until she noticed him and smiled in relief, "There you are." She said, "Where did you go?"

"Hunting My Queen." He began. "I felt it only right given I have lied to you."

"Come here." Shelly told him and instantly, Brute obeyed though his head remained low even as he stood before her. "Look at me." Slowly, he lifted his head and gave a startled hiss as she hopped off her throne and hugged him tightly.

"My Queen?" He asked in some confusion.

"You are the biggest, dumbest and most silly Xenomorph I know." She told him firmly. "I'm not mad about the pain, yes it hurt but, I'm not mad at you, I'm more annoyed you ran off and left me alone."

Brute shook his head, "I told you it wouldn't hurt and it did. I lied to you, my Queen." He said, "I am so sorry my Queen."

"You didn't know that their tails would hurt me." She said, "And I'm not hurting anymore." She assured, "Please don't blame yourself, Brute. I'm not mad at you."

Brute smiled in his way and tightly wrapped his arms around her, hissing softly as he nudged and nuzzled her, then paused as he noticed movement on the seat of the throne, a blanket with a small bump under it. "My Queen?" He asked, using the tip of his tail to pointed to the throne.

"My Son." She called and a tiny Xenomorph head popped up from the blanket and looked at Brute. 

For a moment, the two just looked at one another in silence, Brute's head cocking to one side and the small Xenomorph copied him. Then careful not to fall, the small Xenomorph climbed down to the ground and waddled over to them, standing as tall as his four legs would allow him as he looked at the huge Xenomorph before him.

Shelly stepped back to allow the father and son their space, watching Brute bend down and gently nudge her son and scent him, her son raising up on his back legs to try and copy the actions, though being so small it was not as easy for him. Then Brute stood tall over the tiny Xenomorph and gave a slow loud roar, extending his inner mouth to echo the sound. 

It wasn't meant to intimidate or scare the small one, it was a test to see how he would react to the biggest Xenomorph challenging him. The little one's own inner jaws came out and attempted to imitate the roaring sound, but Shelly couldn't help but smile as the roar came out as more of a high-pitched wail, it was cute and proof that he was just a youngster.

Brute chattered and bent low again, nuzzling the smallest of his brood with a gentle and proud hiss. "A Brave little son," He nodded, "you will be the finest of your mother's first brood." He praised.

Shelly nodded, "He is my baby, and I will raise him to be a strong and brave as you." She assured, lifting the smaller Xenomorph into her arms as she returned to sitting in her throne. "Now, Scar and the others should be back soon. You can meet them and help Scar teach them."

"Yes My Queen." Brute nodded, turning as Scar and the others came in, dragging their kills with them. "A Good hunt." He praised pausing as he noticed Shelly was scratching herself again. "Are you alright?"

"I feel itchy." Shelly admitted.

"Maybe a nap in the cocoon will help easy your itching my Queen?" He offered, "You have just witnessed the birth and shedding of your brood, it may be that your skin is reacting to that?"

"Maybe," Shelly nodded, "As long as the itching stops, I don't mind a nap."

Brute nodded and then looked to Scar, "Brother, stay with your Queen." He stated and his brood looked amongst themselves for a moment, then watched as Scar nodded and followed Shelly into another room.

~"Brother."~ Hiss's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. ~"Something strange is in our Hive."~

Brute hissed and lashed his tail, "All of you stay with our Queen, do not let anything happen to her." He ordered as he climbed into the vents.

\----------

"All signs show that they have partly taken over this side of the station, there are clear Xenomorph structures in the vents and in the main rooms where killings clearly took place." A man said as he worked at a console, ignoring the rotting bodies and blood splatters around the room. "All data recovered shows that Shelly Davidson was once a very happy child until the death of her mother and her father's subsequent drinking problems. Mr. Weyland was aware of the torments she was undergoing thanks to the installed spy wear and added security cameras installed in the cells, Mother was able to back up the files even before Dr. Davidson erased them. Are you receiving all this, sir?" 

~"Yes John, continue to search for anything that may help us bring the entire Hive aboard without losses."~ The French man ordered.

"Yes sir." He said and finished his searching and left the room, joining the others of his search group as they worked to get through the Hive resin to the hand full of life signs they'd been told were ahead of them.

Slow progress as the corridors had been heavily barricaded with dead bodies, broken section of walls and furniture from the adjoining rooms of the corridor.

Hiss watched from the darkness, watching the strange scented men break their hive walls and make a path towards the human's that they had captured, they carried strange looking weapons and he had seen them bringing a strange box like frame from the shuttle they had arrived on.

He didn�t like these strange men, they looked like men, but they smelt like something else, and they were far stronger than a human man should be. Something was wrong, and while he and Brute could easily take down these men, the feeling that something was amiss made Hiss unsure.

So he hung back, waiting, watching and learning all he could about these strangers and what they planned for his Hive and his Queen.

He felt Brute arrive and watched the older Xenomorph study these men. ~"What do we do?"~

~"We do not allow them near our Queen."~ Brute told him, ~"These are metal men, they do not bleed or feed us at all, they are fake. They will hurt our Queen and kill our Hive.~

~"They brought a box with them, big enough to hold us."~ Hiss explained.

~"Show me."~ Brute ordered and Hiss nodded silently leading his brother to the brightly lit and clear area the Metal men had made, pointing with his tail at the huge Frame like box that had been set up.

Brute hissed and lashed his tail. ~"Go back to the Queen, tell her we must move deeper into the Hive. Scar will know where."~ He assured.

~"Yes Brute."~

\----------

Shelly woke with a long yawn and stretched from her cocoon, the itching was gone and she felt refreshed and rested again.

Scar looked at her and gave a pleased chatter. "You have changed again my Queen." He said.

"Changed?" She asked looking down at herself and smiled seeing the pinkish skin of her upper arms had become black and felt firmer under her own touch, not squishy and soft like before, they weren't solid like Xenomorph skin, but it was clearly stronger now.

Scar circled her slowly, parts of her back and front were also hardened now, the area over her human heart and around her neck, the Head Crest was now complete and had fanned out perfectly and now it would grow in size with her into maturity. He could see some soft areas but no one would get close enough to his Queen to harm those areas.

"Come," He said as she pulled a plain black shirt over her head and poked her tail through a pair of shorts. "We will see how your son has been."

Shelly smiled and nodded chuckling as she saw her small son carefully pushing and weaving resin alongside Snap and his other brothers, working to make their Hive bigger and safer. 

"What's happening?" She asked.

"Brute and Hiss said something was in the station, trying to make its way into the Hive, we are making the Hive safer for you." Scar explained, "We can't leave until we know where is safe to-" Scar was cut off by a terrible, xenomorph scream of pain that ripped through Shelly's heart.

"Hiss!" She screamed.

"Come on!" Scar snarled and took two of the Brood with him as the others formed a circle around their Mother, Snap taking a place beside her and her tiny son. 

~"Hiss?! Hiss say something! Are you alright?! Hiss!?"~ Shelly screamed mentally, searching for her brother as she heard the attacking roar from Brute echoing around her. ~"Brute?!"~

\----------

Brute's tail cut the last attacker down, his huge form blocking the way for them to get in and try to take away Hiss as the injured Xenomorph dragged himself into the floor vent for safety.

~"Brother!"~ Scar snarled and Brute ducked, watching Scar's tail decapitate the nearest attacker and splatter the room in white blood.

~"Return to the Queen!"~ he snarled out, ~"Protect her!"~

~"What's happening? Brute tell me what's wrong!"~ 

~"Metal men! They hunt us and capture us! They will not take Hiss, I will not let them!"~ he promised his Queen, biting the neck open and puncturing the metal man with his tail as he heard the feet of many Xenomorphs retreating in the vents.

With a final snarl, he and Scar raced after them, soon reaching the front of the group where one of the other Drones was running as fast as his feet would carry him, Hiss lay limp and weak on the younger Drone's back as blood dripped down his legs and tail.

They reached the Queen's room and instantly, Shelly was there at Hiss's side, tail lashing in fury as she saw the injuries to his body and the oozing green blood that could easily burn her human skin, but now it only burned the cloth of her clothes.

"What did this to you?" She hissed in anger, lightly lifting the drone's face with her clawed hands seeing a terrible and deep gash across his lower jaw, the inner jaw limp and useless at the side of his mouth, giving out broken and choked hisses. "Hiss, what did this to you?"

"M-Met... Metal men."~ Hiss told her having to speak into her mind when his own voice failed him. ~"They hunt you my Queen. They have a cage that will hold you and take you away from us. They will kill us and your Brood, they will take you and Brute and Scar away."~

"Hush brother." Brute hissed as he lifted Hiss by the back of his neck and lower tail joint, placing him into his resin nest and then with a slight wretch, he began to regurgitate resin and cover Hiss in a thin layer of it, "You must rest." He added as Scar joined him, using his larger fingers and claws to spread the resin over Hiss as the Drone lay shaking and wailing in pain.

"Help him!" Shelly snarled at her brood and quickly the younger Warriors copied what Brute and Scar were doing, helping supply resin and spread it over Hiss until the drone's body from the neck down was cocooned.

"He will heal," Brute assured, lightly pressing his head into Shelly's hand as she stood silently fuming anger, her brood wisely shuffling and creeping back into the edges of the room, they had not been alive long enough to properly understand her moods, but they were able to understand that this mood was not something they wished to make worse by crowding their Mother and Queen.

"How many of these Metal men are there?" She spat in rage, "Why can't they just leave us alone?!"

"They will never leave us alone my Queen," Brute said with a deep growling snarl, "They fear you and what you can become and now that you have given birth, you are a Queen in all her glory, we obey and listen only to you and they have lost what little control they might have been able to have over us. You are their fear my Queen and they can't have you free."

"Why? I have done nothing to them!" Shelly snarled.

"They don't care." Scar snarled from his place. "They killed our mother and siblings because they didn't like the way things were, the madman tried to kill you when you failed his wishes, no one cares for us."

Shelly hissed, "Then I do not care for them." She said and Brute stepped back, "We will kill them all, every woman, man and child, metal or otherwise." 

"Yes, my Queen," Brute nodded. "But first, we must make this place more secure, at least until we can move deeper into the Hive."

"But our food is here." Shelly said, "they'll destroy it if we move."

"No, they won't." Brute assured. "We will trap them in the tunnels, we will pick them off one by one until they are all gone." He added and then turned to Hiss. "And we will make them suffer for what they have done to our brother."

Shelly nodded and returned to her throne, lifting her little son to her chest and held him close, hissing softly as her Brothers began to order the Brood into work, busying herself with the care of her son as she thought over what had happened and what to do about it.

These metal men had hurt her brother and they had done it easily. That angered her, but she had to be careful, if she rushed in, she was sure that she would be caught and put in a cell again, forced to leave this Hive and taken to the Facility Jess and Glen had wanted her to go too before while her Brood was killed or forced into cages as well.

She had to be careful.

"Mother?"

"Yes my son?" She asked gently petting his head. 

"I am hungry Mother." He said and she smiled, carrying him to the room where the Eggs were stored, climbing atop an open one to scoop the goo from inside it and offer him a small mouthful.

He ate all she offered and then with a full stomach, he yawned and curled up in her arms.

She smiled and lay her son down to sleep, chuckling as he gave a soft chatter and curled up into the pillow as she covered him with a blanket.

"What are you going to do my Queen?" Brute asked from his place by the throne as Snap fed Hiss, Scar and the Brood were fortifying the outer tunnels of the Hive.

Her smile faded slightly, though Brute saw it become dark. "The Madman has been raving since he woke up this morning."

He nodded and stood, "Do you wish his end?"

"I will end him and I will do it the way you taught me." She said turning to the room where the man was being held. "You will release him into the far side of the Hive, where you taught me to stalk and hunt and we keep him trapped there in the darkness, let him feel the fear and terror he brought on me for so long and then I will kill him, slowly and painfully."

"Yes My Queen." Brute said and bowed deeply before going to do as she had ordered.

~"My Queen..."~ Hiss called weakly and Shelly knelt by his as Snap shuffled away. ~"I am sorry I made you worry about me."~ He said as she lightly pet his still healing face.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She told him, gently hand feeding him the last of the goo. "Just get well again, please Hiss. I don't want you to die."

"He won't die my Queen." Snap assured. "The resin is healing him slowly and the food you and your son eat helps his jaw, but he will never speak as we do again. the damage is too much."

"The Metal men will pay for that." She said, lightly pressing a gentle kiss to Hiss's domed head. "No one is allowed to hurt my family and live."

~"Thank you, My Queen."~ Hiss said and gave a soft hiss despite his pains as shelly lay his head down on the soft resin that was healing his jaw.

"If Scar and the others return before I come back, tell them to rest." She told Snap who bowed and nodded, "Thank you Snap."

"Of course, my Queen." Snap nodded watching her leave and then dutifully laid down beside the bed where her son was sleeping, watching the tunnels and listening carefully for anything that could threaten the Hive.

\----------

"They want us to do this without shooting her?" One asked with a huff of annoyance. "She clearly will kill any one of us who goes in there, what do they want us to do? Offer her a chocolate bar?"

"They mixed up a tranquilizing dart for her." He said. "Fast acting and long lasting."

"What about the rest of her hive?" Another of his men asked. "What do we do when they get nasty because their Queen went nap time?"

"We'll find out when we get there." He stated, loading a heavy dosage dart into his weapon. "Alright boys, we go in, we set up and we wait, the first Xeno we see, we capture and hold. Keep it as bait to bring the kid out, once we have her, we bring in every other we find with the shock nets and traps. We are trying not to kill them but if they go for the kill strikes, do what you must."

"Yes Sir!" 

"Ellen?"

~"Yes sir?"~

"I want you on monitors, keep an eye on everything we have set up and tell me if we catch sight of her or her two bigger Guards," he said, "You are my eyes now Ellen,"

~"Understood sir."~ Ellen assured and his optical visor flashed in the upper left corner to tell him she was feeding him the same channel she was viewing.

They landed and within seconds, his team were set up around the frame, ready and waiting.

~"Sir I have seen something on one of the Stations cameras. Patching you through."~ Ellen said and he nodded, letting the images fill his visor screen.

~{ Prof. Davidson cursed as he fell back and from where he had been trying to climb out of the room Brutal the largest of his once captive Xenomorphs had left him, hearing the faint, but undeniable hisses of a Xenomorph still in the area. He fumbled and staggered around as he tried to find some escape, only to fall over his own feet and the rotting bodies of past victims in his search for a way out.

A way out that didn't exist anymore. 

In the darkness, the young Queen watched, stalking her father in the shadows letting her tail tip rattling against the bars of the vent covers as she watched him cower and searched the darkness blindly for a way out or a way to defend himself. }~

It was as if she liked seeing him like that, frightened and lost in the darkness, knowing that there was no way out. He sighed and shook his head, thinking about it realistically he could understand why. How many years had she lived like that? Locked up in a cell and forgotten? Treated like a test subject for her father's sick game?

Ironic really. 

He'd tried to turn her into the Queen she was now, but he had no way to control her. He would die at the hands of the daughter he had tried to kill.

~{ She lashed her tail spike with a loud hiss, cutting into his back with one long strike, making him cry out and fall to the ground as she landed gracefully behind him, hearing him struggle to shuffle away from her.

"N-Now... now, now, Shelly! Let's- Let's not be rash..." he tried to say and she snarled and smacked him with the flat of her tail, cutting him with her claws and tail as she beat him back into the wall.

She didn't want to hear him talk it seemed, she targeted the area of the body that would bring the most pain, the weak joins of his arms and shoulders so they would crack and shatter inside him, the tender muscles that made it easy for him to walk and run, the ligaments that made his body work.

She wanted him in pain.

"Yo-you are Queen because of me! I-I was the one who injected you! The one who gave you the genes to become what you are!" He tried to say only to yell as she cut his chest with another powerful lash of her tail.

She used her tail to grab his neck and dragging him to her level, hissing as she snarled at him. "You ruined my life!! My childhood is gone because of you!!"

"Shelly-stop!" He choked out as she squeezed his neck, trying to pry her tail off. "You can't kill me! I made you!! Shel-!!"

"Rot in hell, you bastard." She told him as her clawed hand squeezed tightly around his heart, ripping it out of his chest with ease, letting the body fall limp to the floor as she looked at the heart in her hand. 

"Brute." She called and a huge Xenomorph fell from the ceiling, nudging her free hand gently with his head. "I'm ready to go now." She said tossing the heart to the floor. 

The big Xenomorph nodded then stopped and hissed, smashing the camera with his tail. }~ 

~"It seems she is capable of looking after herself."~ Ellen told him.

"So it would seem," he nodded. "continue to watch for her."

~"Yes sir."~

He would need to be very careful how this Queen was handled, she wasn't a frightened child anymore, she was a killer and while she was young and could maybe be reasoned with, she wasn't killing people out of fear or under some kind of manipulation of the Xenomorphs, she was acting on her own volition.

That made her a threat even if she was alone.

"Ellen." He said.

~"Sir?"~ Ellen asked.

"Send the file to the Scientists and keep a close eye on the recovery team, make sure the cage for this Queen and her Xeno's is dark and no one goes near them until we are sure we have all we can get from here." 

~"Yes sir."~

\----------

The others watched the footage and talked amongst themselves about the implications of this new discovery, thinking carefully about how this development might work out in their own tests and how they might be able to control the Queen and thus her Hive mates.

Quietly, he left the room and began walking in measured steps over the long cat walks that overlooked the containment frames below, each one holding a full grown adult male Xenomorphs, eggs from Hives and other Xenomorph subjects that had been gathered and captured in an attempt to understand the way a Hive worked and in theory find a way to control the entire Hive without a Queen.

It had so far been proven impossible, all humans who tried to form a bond without the Xenomorph genes had been killed or used to incubate another Xenomorph. 

He was paid to capture, contain and study these things for Weyland, but he was also paid to make sure that the Facility supplies the very best results for Weyland's hard bought contracts and to do that, he had to ensure that the Xenomorphs were tame and could be sent to fight and kill any foe in any environment.

If this child could make that happen, maybe it was worth taking a few risks with this one?

\----------

Brute smiled as his smallest offspring carefully used his tail to cut the resign into size and spread it into areas the bigger Xenomorphs couldn't reach, chattering as he worked, easily dodging the larger feet of his brothers as they worked and even climbing up the larger Xenomorphs to reach places he was needed.

It had been a week since the Metal men attacked Hiss and the old Drone was now back up on his own feet, but his once familiar hissing no longer echoed around the Hive. Their Queen was not pleased by this, and had, as she'd promised Hiss, made the Metal Men pay, trapping them in a room that crushed things.

She'd thrown the box shapes that had been the metal men at the Human soldiers that had come looking for them, killing three of them before being driven off by the heavy fire and currently she was resting in her throne room, Snap and Scar with her as Hiss helped patrol the Hive for any of the humans who might have strayed into a deadly place alone while Brute helped repair a damaged wall from a recent fight. 

A sudden sound made him stop and hissed lowly, lifting the smallest Xenomorph onto his back with his tail as he climbed into the shadows, watching a strange wheeled device rolling over the Hive floor. When he tried to knock it over with his tail, he was shocked by something and hissed at it, his brood biting the air near it trying to find a way to stop it.

~ "Do stop it." ~ A voice from the device scolded. ~ "We do not wish to hurt you." ~

"Then why are you ruining my Hive?" Shelly demanded as her tail slammed into the ground in front of the device. "Get out and leave us alone."

~ "Now, that's not very nice." ~ The voice said, ~ "We did not come to attack you, Shelly Davidson." ~

"I do not answer to that name anymore." She snarled. "Get out of my Hive or die." She added and smacked the device with her tail, sending it into the wall.

~ "You will leave us no choice but to use violent methods if you continue to be hostile." ~

"You shot and injured one of my brothers and you threaten my brood, I have no choice but to be hostile." She told the device. "Leave my Hive. I will not tell you again."

~ "Then you leave us no choice." ~ The voice said as the device gave a small bleep before it began expelling a thick gray cloud.

"Gas!" Brute snarled. "We must move!"

"My Son!" Shelly called and took her child from Brute's back as she and her Brood followed him through the tunnels.

"There are more of those things!" Scar hissed using his tail to smack another device away from them as it began to spray Gas into the air, leaving their throats burning and their bodies starting to go numb. 

"Stop!" Snap yelled second before a cage frame was slammed down over him and three others as he tried to claw his way out, then the walls of the cage began to hiss and spark with blue light, when touched a strong electric current shocked the xenomorphs inside and forced them to back away from the sides. 

"Snap?!"

"Scar! Get her away from here!" Brute told his brother in a deep hiss, lashing his tail against a vent that blocked their path. "Go!"

"But Brute!" 

"Go My Queen." Brute hissed, "You are too important to the Hive to be captured, you must escape!" 

"But what about you!?" Shelly asked only for Scar to grab her with his tail and pull her into the vents. "Brute!? Scar let go! we have to help them! Scar!!"

"We must run!" Scar told her, pulling her through the vents as she clutched her smallest son to her chest, following Scar as he led her through the shafts and ducts. "Brute will be alright my Queen! We mustn't be caught by the gas or we will be put in cages too!"

"But the others!" Shelly said.

"No matter what happens, you must live my Queen." Scar said again. "I'm sorry."

Something big hit the vent duct ahead and behind them, crusting their escape routes closed and ripping them and the vent from the wall and sealed them into the small space. Then, from an open shaft, the same greyish gas began to pour in.

"No!" Shelly hissed slamming her tail against the walls of her prison, clutching her son close to her body as he shook and trembled against her, weak claws going limp as Scar screeched loudly and began head butting the walls violently as the gas grew thicker and thicker.

"Hurry!" 

"Get that cage ready!"

"Shit the big one got lose! Its heading right for you!"

The metal groan in protest, small cuts started to appear, giving her more reason to claw the walls as Scar slumped down from the effects of the gas. "My Queen..." 

She wanted out. She wanted out NOW! She was not going to become another lab test subject and she was not going to lose her Hive. She could sense them, all of her brood and her brothers, all still alive just weak and disorientated from the gas and the shocks they had received from their cages. 

"Now, now Mademoiselle, please calm down. We aren't going to hurt you." A voice tried to sooth from outside the gas filled prison as she continued to lash her tail at the walls of her prison.

"LET ME OUT!!" She screamed this time her tail was able to break out of the crushed vent and strike someone, it wasn't fatal but it was enough to cause a flurry of activity.

"Stun her!" a voice demanded and Shelly hissed as something was placed against all the holes she had made with her claws and tail, a long pole that burned her skin as it touched her, making her go limp and numb instantly. 

Brute's mighty snarl echoed around her suddenly and she saw his huge form appear over her, crouched low and protectively as he snarled and snapped at the humans, "Brute..."

"No one will take you away my Queen, not so long as I breath!!" Brute snarled his tail smacking one human away while cutting the head off a metal man.

"Stun him! Now!!"

Shelly hissed, however weakly and curled herself into a tight ball around her son, clutching his small body to her chest to protect him as Brute was brought down with the same long pole that had hurt her, but despite his pains he curled himself around them both, still hissing and chattering as Shelly felt her world go dark. 

\----------

Ellen watched as the young Queen and her Hive were brought aboard and set in the blacked-out section of the ship. Their unconscious bodied quickly locked in restrains that held their wrists ahead of them, their feet off the floor and their tails held in a domed cover, stopping them from using the spiked ends to kill someone.

All but the Queen and her two guards. They were kept separate from the main Hive and in a much larger cage, unrestrained and able to move freely when they awoke.

"Six of them were injured but will live." She said and then looked at her commanding officer. 

"Are the bombs in place?"

"Yes Sir."

"Then tell our Captain to set our course and when we are a safe distance away, blow that mess to hell."

"Yes Sir." She nodded and left the cat walk.

"A magnificent creature." One of the lab coats stated as she joined him on the catwalk. "Such skill and strength and her intelligence must be tested, her endurance, everything must be tested before we even think of trying to understand more."

"Are you sure it's wise to think so far ahead after she so very nearly killed Prof. Chakston?" He asked refusing to the French Professor, currently having his shoulder bandaged after Shelly's tail spike had struck him. "She is not some child, Prof. Lincroft, she isn't going to be easily spoken too nor is she going to answer questions willingly."

"We'll figure it out." The female stated. "For now, we need only tag and number them all. Then wait for them to wake up and see how she responds."

"Just remember to keep your distance. I don't think Mr. Weyland pays you to get your limbs ripped off."

"Not to worry." Prof. Lincroft assured. "Every precaution has been taken to insure that the Xenomorphs stay in their cages and we stay safely out of their reach."

"Good."

\----------

He'd woken up shivering, alone and scared. Climbing into an open area that was just big enough for him and wiggled along the passage to a warm dark area, and curled up, confused, and unsure what to do.

Mother wasn't answering him, but he could sense her and his brothers.

What was he to do?


	6. Chapter Five.  The Facility.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short and sweet, but there is a long chapter to come. I promise you all,
> 
> Again HUGE thanks to my Beta reader; The_Specialist.

\----------   
Chapter Five.   
The Facility. 

Shelly and her Guards quickly proved to be the most difficult and deadly addition to the facility, the two Guards were organized and skilled and Shelly took every pleasure in using her tail and claws to destroy the equipment that was meant to monitor her when she found it. She fought everything and her Guards proved to be far more aggressive than any large Xenomorph they had captured before, crushing the mechanical arms and bars in their mouths with ease and quickly destroyed any device they tried to use to communicate with the Hive. 

It took an hour for Brute and Scar to make a large resign structure for Shelly to hide in, and two hours for them to find a weak point in the cage, whipping and clawing the weak point over and over again until they have been forced to flood the room with gas again and knock them out, restraining the two guards as they had the other Xenomorphs. 

Shelly, having been hidden in the resign structure hadn't been affected by the gas and had attacked. Despite her young age and not having the same flexibility as her brothers, had decapitated two of the Androids and stabbed one of the scientists in the thigh before they'd managed to restrain her and move her to a separate cell. That, however, proved only to make the two guards and Hive even more aggressive and Shelly responded to the separation violently, lashing her tail and claws against the walls of her prison, screaming and hissing in fury. 

It was during that time, that the Scientists had moved the rest of Shelly's Hive into a premade Chamber, sealed off and separated from the rest of the Facility save a few heavily reinforced doors and sensor triggered tubes and vents. The first thing the Hive did was search for weaknesses, as predicted they found their way into the vents, only to find that they went in one big loop though it didn't stop them covering the whole of the Chamber as large and vast as twelve rooms and their vents in resign. 

It took a few hours, but soon enough the night vision camera showed them crafting ledges, shelves and overhangs and then making what appeared to be nests for themselves and their Queen. None of them were on the floor, they were made on resign ledges or inside the hanging nests of resign to hide them from the cameras. 

Then, quiet unexpectedly, the Hive went still and dormant. Unresponsive to everything around them unless life stock was brought to them for food, but beyond that, they went into a state of sleep. 

All but the four that had been closest to Shelly. They were still so aggressive and so unpredictable that no one could get near them. 

\---------- 

He huffed and curled up tightly in his small resign bed, shaking lightly from the cold as he tugged a blanket over himself. searching for some comfort. 

He had seen many things while wondering around the shafts but because of the metal men and the humans around Mother he'd been forced to stay away from her, to stay hidden and alone so he wasn't hurt or used as a test subject the way she had been. 

He sniffled softly as he huddled into the resign nest, he had stolen the blanket for added warmth but he wanted his mother's warmth and he was hungry, so very, very hungry... 

This place is so strange and so cold, it scared him but he wanted to prove he could be helpful to his Hive and his Queen, so he patrolled the vents and made notes of everything he saw and heard, in hopes he could tell it all to his mother. 

With a soft hiss, he curled up under the blanket to sleep, hoping the pains in his tummy would go away soon. 

\---------- 

Ellen found the Lieutenant in his usual place, leant against the glass of the huge reinforced tube that housed the frozen female Xenomorph that had been captured and restrained alongside the two Crushers. She wasn't a Queen and had at first been male according to eth reports, but somehow that male had become female and begun to grow larger and form a crest and before long, she taken over as the dominant force in the Facility Xenomorphs. 

Ellen had seen the Lieutenant's predecessor attempt to bargain with the creature, only to almost lose all control over the Facility, though now that fool was dead and his role filled by Lieutenant Joshua Kio, the female Xenomorph was trapped in deep freeze. 

The small monitor on the wall beside the Lieutenant showed a slow and steady heartbeat and a very clearly active brain. 

This Female was too deadly and too smart to be allowed to thaw and so, the Lieutenant had made it clear that unless he gave a direct order to Ellen, this almost Queen would never be released from her cold prison. 

"Sir." 

"What is the matter?" he asked. 

"The new arrival is not doing so well." She said and handed him the report she had been carrying. "She has become increasingly unstable and her body is showing elevated signs of stress and discomfort. Mr. Weyland has requested that you, as head of this Facility, step in and speak with her." 

He nodded, straightening up and following Ellen towards Shelly's cell. 

She hissed at him when he stepped into the room and he saw the glint of her tail inside her cell. "I am unarmed, alone and I have no desire to prod and poke you with needles, wires and tubes." 

"Prove it." She snarled at him, the tail smacking against the wall of her cell, making a line of sparks. 

"As you wish." He said and the lights above him brightened as he placed his hat down on a small desk and opened his jacket to show her the inside was void of weapons or any other devices, he also too the jacket off and turned slowly, showing her his back to prove there was nothing there. 

"Boots." She hissed. 

He blinked. "I beg your pardon?" 

"You have boots on that cover your shins. You can hide a knife in there. Take off your boots." she told him. 

"Very well," he said and after undoing the laces, he pulled the boots off his feet and placed them neatly beside the desk, pulling the legs of his trousers up to show no knife. "Are you satisfied I am unarmed?" He asked. 

"You have hands and feet and you have words, that means you have weapons." She told him. "Do not treat me like I am stupid." 

"Alright, then let me make this proposal to you." He began to suggest only to be cut off by her snarl. 

"You want my Hive as weapons for war! That bastard used me as a Test subject and when he failed to meet the deadlines set by people like Weyland, I was tossed aside to die!" 

"I have no power to change the way you were made into the Queen you are." He nodded. "But I do have the power to make this situation more comfortable for you." 

"We were fine where we were." She hissed, "You Humans should have just left us alone." 

"You are part human." he said. 

"I stopped being human when the madman started using me as a subject for his tests." She snarled and her tail lashed again. "I am a Queen." 

He shook his head. "And what happened when you ran out of food?" He asked. 

"We'd have found more." She hissed. 

"How?" 

"Humans always go places they shouldn't. More of you would have come looking for loot or scraps and then they would be food." She stated, the tip of her tail dragging against the floor lightly. "Go away." 

"I have done nothing to hurt you." 

"I don't care." She hissed. "I don't trust you or any human. You ruined my childhood and now that I can control a Hive, Humans want to ruin that for me as well." 

He shook his head, "Hear me out at the very least. You want your Hive; the Scientists here want to study the way a Xenomorph Hive behaves and interacts with one another. If you promise to calm down and not attempt to destroy any more of our equipment, I will personally give the order to have your Hive moved from their restraints to a larger room where they will be free to do as they wish and return you to them." 

"And you expect me to believe that is all you want?" She spat. 

"It's what I am paid for." He said, "Honestly, I wanted to see you and your Hive destroyed, but I am paid to insure the safe and in-depth study of Xenomorphs in a Hive, thus, I need you alive." He explained, "You do as I ask this once and I will leave you and your Hive alone from here on." 

She went quiet and still and for a long time, he stood there, listening and waiting. 

"Your name?" She asked. 

"Joshua Kio." He said. 

"Know this, Joshua. I will do as you have asked. But, if you're lying to me, I will kill you. And I will make sure it is slow, painful and brutal." She said. 

"Very well." He nodded. "Now, I am going to turn the lights to full and I will call my assistant in here, she will open the cell and let you out, then, you can follow me to your Hive and calm them." 

"Fine." She said and as the lights brightened, he saw she had covered the inside of her cell with deep claw marks, tail scores and some small burnt areas on the floor. "I was running out of room to claw in here anyway." 

He chose to ignore the clear threat as she stood and stretched, showing off her tail and claws. "Your Hive have been placed in a larger room, but have gone into a dormant state, and the four that are still awake, have been restrained to stop them breaking any more equipment. Once you have calmed them we shall move you all to the larger area." The Lieutenant explained. 

"I doubt you understand what a foolish idea that is." She told him as Ellen stepped into the room and quietly keyed in the unlock code for the Cell. 

"The Scientists want to study Xenomorphs and how they make their Hives and how they behave when they have a Queen." He said, "If it were up to me I'd have killed everyone of your Hive mates and just brought you here." 

"You'd have tried." She hissed and followed him and Ellen out of the cell and into the brightly lit hall way. 

The Scientists watched the screens carefully as the hybrid Queen was lead through the halls. She walked as a human would, though her tail swayed lazily behind her, making it impossible for anyone to get any closer than three feet, her feet made sharp claw marks in the ground and when passing the guards, she hissed at them like a true Xenomorph would as a means to scare them. 

She heard the hissing and snarling of her brothers and shoved Joshua and Ellen aside as she saw them at last, tightly restrained and straining to reach her as she dropped to her knees and with one swift lash of her tail, cut the wrist and neck restraints from the mutilated Drone and caught it's weak body in her arms. 

"Let them out." She snarled at the Lieutenant, lashing her tail at him. "Now!!" 

"Tell them not to attack and I will remove their restraints." Joshua reminded and Shelly turned to the four, chattering and growling for a few minutes before the four settled and seemed to calm, though the continued to growl and hiss. 

"Let. Them. Out." She said again and as promised the Lieutenant removed their restraints via a remote control. 

The largest Xenomorph moved faster than expected and pushed the Lieutenant and Ellen aside with a deep growl as the other two swarmed their Queen, nuzzling and nudging her with their heads and tails, searching for any injury as they hissed and chattered around her. 

"I'm ok Brothers," She assured softly, but did nothing to stop them inspecting her as they checked for any injuries. Slowly the three backed off as she turned to the largest of the four, taking its face in her hands and petting the domed head softly. "I'm alright Brute, it's ok." 

"Brute?" Ellen asked as she helped the Lieutenant back to his feet. 

"They have names." She told them, "Brute is the biggest, Scar has the scars on his head, Hiss is the one missing half his jaw thanks to your metal men and Snap is the last one." She said using her tail to point at the three others as she continued to pet Brute, he slowly lowered himself to all fours. 

"Do they all have names, or just these four?" Joshua asked. 

"Just them." The young Queen stated and then turned to Scar as he stepped forwards, head bowed and tail low as he chattered and hissed something, as if waiting to be punished for what he was telling her. She knelt and hugged Scar. "I don't blame you, Scar. It's not your fault Humans can't leave us alone." She assured softly. 

Scar gave a soft chatter and returned the hug. 

"Now that you've done as I asked." The Lieutenant said, clearing his throat. "I shall do as I promised. If you would follow us, I will take you to your new Hive." 

\---------- 

He kept moving, carefully avoiding the rooms that smelt like Humans and Metal men, looking into the rooms where he could hear the familiar hisses of his kind and taking care to not be seen or noticed even by the other Xenomorphs. 

~ "My Son?" ~ She asked and he smiled happy to at last hear his mother's voice in his head again. ~ "Are you alright? Have you been hurt at all?" ~ 

~ "No, I'm ok Mother. My tummy makes a funny sound sometimes, but it's not painful anymore. And I have seen many things here, strange things and lots of others like Father. Warriors, Drones, Runners, and there are Cradles too," ~ He explained, letting himself relax as he warmth spilled over his mind, gentle and kind as she had always been with him. ~ "They also have two big males, Crushers." ~ 

~ "Keep note of their locations but stay away from them. They are not safe, and something else is here, something that isn't safe." ~ His father said. ~ "This place feels wrong and if these Humans have anything that could hurt our Queen, we must know about it so we can prepare." ~ 

~ "Yes father." ~ 

It seemed that the news of two Crushers made his father worry and that scared him. His father was the biggest of his Hive and the strongest, if something could scare him that meant that there was something out there that might hurt his Mother. 

~ "You can hunt for something to eat my son, but please, be careful," ~ Mother told him and he could feel the urge to run into her arms and snuggle into her warmth growing stronger as she spoke to him softly. ~ "You have done well and deserve a reward." ~ 

~ "Thank you Mother." ~ 

\---------- 

The Scientists were all gathered in the observation room of the Hive Chamber, watching as the Xenomorphs inside began to move and stir from their slumber as the doors opened and allowed the two Drones Shelly had named as Hiss and Snap charged in and began to search the walls and ceiling, inspecting the work of the Hive while Scar and Brute walked in with Shelly between them, tails lashing against the walls as they walked. 

The doors closed behind them and Shelly hissed at them. "Stupid Humans." 

Brute hissed and chattered something and Shelly nodded, letting the big Xenomorph lead her to the floor where she could sit down and one by one, the Hive came forwards and greeted their Queen with soft chattering, hissing and growling sounds, while nuzzling and nudging against her, each one being greeted in return with a soft embrace and light petting. 

"This place is too bright, colder than a kitchen and no good food," Shelly huffed. 

"We have life stock that can be used to feed you and your Hive." Prof. Lincroft assured and then stepped back as Scar head butted the window. 

"And there are nosy people here too." Shelly sighed mockingly as Scar tapped the glass with his claws and then spat at it. "Scar, don't make a mess on the glass, it will ruin the fun of scaring them off when they annoy us." She added. 

Scar hissed softly and backed away from the glass, though he did lash his tail at the glass again. 

"May we introduce ourselves?" Prof. Clarkston asked. 

"You are all dressed in white coats, have a yucky dress sense and you have a bandaged arm, so no I don't need to know who you are." Shelly said, broadly inspecting her claws. "You're all lab rats and you are the man I spiked when you invaded and ruined our old Hive." 

"You do understand that this will be easier for all of us if you cooperate." Prof. Lincroft said. 

"And you understand that the minute you fuck up, you're dead." Shelly said, "Go away. We have enough work to do with this place without two lab rats asking stupid questions." She added and with one big jump, climbed up the wall with her Hive and vanished into the darkness above the light's reach. 

"Well that went well." Prof. Clarkston sighed. 

"We'll have other chances to speak with her." Prof. Lincroft said, "We just need to be patient." 

\---------- 

Scar was proving to be the most aggressive of the four Guards with Shelly. Even as his Hive mates worked to kill the life stock to feed themselves and each other, he was always pacing and searching for ways that might lead to an escape. It led to many scares when Scar's claws and tail cut into eth walls and doors of the Hive Chamber, forcing Lieutenant Joshua to seal that corridor off and rigs the doors on both ends to carry a powerful electric current. 

It took a week for the Hive to apparently come to tears with the fact they were not escaping, though this did not stop them taking every pleasure is scaring the Scientists when they head butted and spat at the Glass of the Observation room, the only place Light came in to the Hive since Shelly had allowed it to remain clear. 

The Humans and Metal Men had camera's everywhere in the room, no matter how much resin they used to cover the walls, he was sure some cameras were still watching them. Scar was aware of them and because of that, his temper was getting shorter. 

Currently, he was laid curled around his Queen, running his claws and tail over her back and sides, scratching the irritating feeling as Shelly scratched at her front. They were both aware of Prof. Lincroft at the window, watching them and making notes of what she saw and the sounds they were making. 

The Queen hissed. "Never seen a girl having a back scratch before?" 

"You've been scratching like a flea-bitten dog for the past hour." She said, making another note. "Is it normal?" 

"Stress induced." Shelly huffed, "Suddenly moving and having to rebuild and redecorate a Hive to keep lab rats from spying on me sleeping is not how I planned to spend my days." 

"Do your Hive itch too?" 

"Do you see them scratching?" Shelly snipped. "It's just me, since I'm still part Human. No hope of changing that." She sighed. 

"You want to be whole Xenomorph?" Lincroft asked. 

"Humans abused me, used me as a test subject and stripped me of my childhood. Brute and my Brothers saved me from death, they made me a Queen and they taught me to be like them, I had everything I wanted and now I am stuck in this box because some stuck up, weak little Human wants to study me." Shelly snarled and her tail strike shook the glass in its frame. "If you knew anything about Xenomorphs, you would have just left us alone." 

Scar hissed and lightly nuzzled his Queen, then with a last snarl at the woman behind the glass, he nudged Shelly up and away from the light. 

Prof. Lincroft watched them leave back up into the shadows and then made her way back to the main observation room, sure enough, Shelly and Scar had moved to a ledge away from the light and resumed scratching. 

"She's been at it all day, Brute was helping her earlier." Prof. Kelly said offering the other female a cup of coffee. "Stress or not, it must be hurting her." 

"She isn't showing any pains." Prof. Don said, carefully looking over what little information they had managed to gather on the Hive so far. "And even if she was, I doubt she would speak to us about them." 

"We need something to test their skills." Prof. Chambers said, "Something that will make the Hive react but not endanger us or the rest of the facility." 

"What do you suggest?" Prof. Clarkston asked, slowly adjusting his sling. "They are not going to just let us send an armed man in there." 

"Maybe we could try introducing her to the two big ones?" Prof. Chambers suggested. "They are big enough to be a threat if they aren't accepted and they were close to the big Female when we found them." 

"Which is why we will not be introducing them." Prof. Lincroft said. "They are completely unstable and still connected somehow to the female we had to deep freeze." 

"How about the smaller ones?" Prof. Clarkston asked. "We have not seen any signs of aggression from them since we separated them from the bigger ones and they seem almost lost without a Queen or Hive mates." 

"Will they accept them?" Prof. Don asked. 

"Even if she doesn't, it will show us just how brutal they can be to each other when not accepted by a hive and what we can expect if Shelly ever meets the Female we have here already." 

As they continued to talk, they were unaware of the ears and eyes that watched and listened to them every word from the safety of the vents. 

The small Xenomorph listened to every word and when the Humans had made their plan, and retired to sleep for the evening, he moved back to his safe little nest and told his Mother and Father everything he had heard. The Humans were going to try introducing new Xenomorphs, Warriors, Drones and Runners into Shelly's Hive, in hopes of studying how Xenomorphs reacted to strangers and new comers of their own kind. 

They would not bring the Crushers into the Hive, but they were debating introducing a Xenomorph Egg into the Hive. 

"They are fools." Brute hissed, ripping a large slab of meat from their kill and brought it to Shelly as she sat inside one of the largest hanging nests, the same one she slept in with them. 

"We have to give them something to study." She said taking the slab and took a bite from it as Scar laid behind her, his tail around her waist. "They'll kill us if we don't." She added using their language to speak so the Scientists couldn't understand them. 

"But there is great danger in allowing them near you. They could tell their Queen of you and if she is a true Xenomorph Queen as our mother was, she will stop at nothing to kill you." Brute explained resting his head against her shoulder. "If this other Queen's Hive mates are made part of our Hive, they will kill your broods and us and try to breed you themselves, no matter if you are willing or not." 

"Never!" Scar hissed harshly and clutched Shelly close to him with a deep growl. "I won't let them hurt her. No one will hurt her!" 

"Scar calm down." Shelly hissed softly, gently rubbing Scar's domed head to sooth him. "Shhhhh, shhhh," 

"You can't be hurt... we did not save you from that Madman just for you to be hurt by these fools." Scar snarled, slowly relaxing his hold on her but still gently clutched her waist with his tail. "You mean too much to us to be hurt... We can't lose you..." 

"You won't lose me, Scar." She promised, "I don't plan on dying or letting these Humans and Metal men take me away from you again." She assured. 

Scar hissed but calmed himself and gently nuzzled her neck and shoulders as they ate, gently tugging Shelly down to lay with him as she yawned and rubbed her eyes. 

~ "What's the plan?" ~ Hiss asked as he climbed up, laying his head over Shelly's lap while Snap curled up at the door, ready to attack any fool Human or Metal Man that dared come near them. 

"For now, we do nothing," Brute said pulling a thin resin blanket over Shelly as she snuggled close to Scar. "But if they do bring the others here, we kill them." 

"Very well." Snap nodded. 

Brute yawned and nuzzles close to Shelly as Scar curled around her, neither feeling safe or sure of what to do, only sure that if they didn't think of a way escape this place and kill take over from the Humans and the Female they knew was somewhere in this Facility, Shelly would be in grave danger. 

Scar was frustrated by it all, she was ready and willing to Breed again, but he couldn't sire a brood with her because of the Humans and Metal Men watching them and because he knew Shelly couldn't birth a Brood safely in this place, they would take her away and take away his Brood. Using them as test subjects while tormenting Shelly with their strange equipment and tests. 

It was starting to show, he had been hoarding food and even hissing at Brute and Snap, lashing his tail in anger when he was alone. He found small relief when they slept, as his Queen allowed him to hold her as she rested, snuggled as close as she could get to him as he held and petted her. 

\---------- 

}~"You are new here."~{ 

He stopped dead at the deep male voice in his head and stayed very still. 

}~"Oh don't worry tiny one, I am not going to hurt you. Quite the opposite in fact. I want to help you."~{ 

He shook his head and quickly ran to his nest, curling up under the blanket and whimpering softly. "Mother..." 

}~"Hush, shush, Tiny one, I am not a threat to you like this. I want you to take a message to your Queen for me, tell her I can help her escape, but she has to do something for me first."~{ 

"Wh... What do you want?" He asked. 

}~"Simple really."~{ The voice stated, a soft but noticeable hiss like echo to their voice. }~"If the Queen of your Hive will allow me to remain with my Queen, giving us leave to claim a world of our own, I will show her how to make this Facility crash into a world that she can claim as her own."~{ 

"Why should we trust you?" He asked, trying to sound scary and brave like his Father did. 

}~"Because without my help, none of us will ever escape this place."~{ 

\----------


	7. Chapter 6.  The Queen.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the Hive settles and plots is way to escape, with the help of a unseen alley.   
> But not all is going well.

\----------

Chapter 6.

The Queen.

Brute thought very carefully about what his small son had shared with them while Scar and Shelly remained asleep in their bed, Hiss and Snap were close by, ripping the skin from a cow and then neatly cutting the meat up and sharing it amongst the Hive as he lashed his tail from side to side.

Would it be worth the risk? This stranger, this other male, who spoke so directly to his son said there was a way out and that all he and his Hive wanted was to be allowed to leave this place. He could believe that.

But would they allow Shelly to live?

Would they let the little Queen he loved so much, the Queen he had helped raise from the frightened soft skinned child she was then into the ruthless killer she was now live on and make her own true Hive world as they promised? Or would they betray them, kill Shelly and leave her to death?

He had to know for sure.

And to do that, he had to do something he knew would ruin any faith Scar had left in him if he was wrong. Quietly, he moved back into the nest and sat, waiting for his Queen and her Chosen to awaken.

\----------

The Lieutenant looked over his paper work and then double checked the signatures and dates to be sure he was reading the correct request and reports.

Lieutenant Joshua Koi,

Due to lack of study and notable behaviour of the Hive Shelly rules, the team has come to the agreement that we must make the first move to study the Hive by introducing subjects 007, 003 and 005 into Shelly's Hive. 007 the Runner, 003 the Drone and 005 the Warrior.

There is a high chance of aggression between the two Hives if we do this, but without a True Queen to guild them 7, 3 and 5 have become docile and somewhat lacking. They no longer show responses to the tests and have begun to shed on a regular basis.

However, no matter the results of this trial, we would like to try and move the two Crushers closer to the others and see how their presence effects the Hive in general as they have shown a greater level of intelligence and understanding of both our language and Xenomorph Hierarchy.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this request and we await your reply.

Science Team Leader, Prof. Lincroft.

Joshua sighed, how far were they trying to push this stupidity? Lincroft was always rash. But to try and move the two Biggest Xenomorphs they held here around like a pair of domestic Cats would only lead to trouble and if the three new comers did become part of Shelly's Hive there would be no study beyond the welcome or rejection behaviour of the Hive that would result in deaths.

He sighed and picked up the phone, dialling the number easily and waited for the answer.

~"Weyland office. How may I help you?"~

"Hello Kelly. Is Mr. Weyland free?"

~"One moment Lieutenant Koi." ~

There was a soft click and a short-looped music track that played for a few minutes, something classical like that Weyland insisted was once the most popular sound on Earth, he lightly tapped his fingers and re-read the request before a second click sounded on the phone.

~"Something wrong Lieutenant?"~ A deep male voice asked.

"Lincroft is requesting to put three new Xenos into Shelly's Hive to try and kick start some study of the Hives behaviour, but even if that fails, she plans to bring the two Crushers closer to Shelly's chamber." He explained.

~"And you see an issue?"~

"Shelly's not a scared child Sir, she's been taught by those Xenos how to be a Queen and despite the lack of behaviour my Gut says she's up to something. I want to clear this request with you and also have your permission to separate Shelly from her Hive if they kill the three we send in."

~"You are sure that something will happen?"~

"We barely avoided losing this facility when Lincroft made the call to allow the Female Xenomorph to stay with her Hive, we can't allow that to happen again."

The man on the other end of the line made a soft hum sound and went very quiet, likely thinking over everything he had been told and everything he already knew about the situation.

~"I will allow the introduction of the three new Xenos, but the Crushers will not be moved."~ He said eventually, ~"Shelly's Hive is the key to us controlling the Xenomorphs we can't risk harm coming to her. Separate her only for study into how the Hive behaves, but do not keep her away for too long. However, if she proves to be a threat, put down her Hive and have her sealed in to Cryo-stasis with the other Female and have them both shipped to me."~

"Yes Sir." Joshua said and the line went dead. "Ellen, please replay the orders regarding the transfer to Lincroft. I am going to the observation deck of the Female."

"Yes sir." Ellen nodded and left the room as the Lieutenant picked up his hat and walked to the cat walks above the holding cells.

\----------

~"Breeding!?"~ Scar snarled. ~"No! They will take her away! They will kill the Brood! They'll hurt her!!"~

~"Not if they don't know about the Breeding."~ Brute explained softly, ~"We make a new nest, a nest that can hold the Queen and her Brood within it on the ceiling. We keep Shelly

inside it and when the Humans ask why, we make them think it is to protect her from the new comers until we are ready to let them near her."~

~"And this Stranger? What of him?"~ Scar snarled, his tail still holding Shelly's waist as she slept on behind him, dreams safe from their arguments as the two spoke mentally.

~"That is why I need your Brood."~ Brute said, ~"My Brood is old enough to fight and withstand the fight if it comes to it. But if they die, it will be your brood who must protect our Queen. As her current Chosen, you are her shield Scar and I can't demand that you lay down your Brood meaninglessly if I can do it."~ he explained and gently re-tucked the blanket over their Queen. ~"She is all we have and it is not fair of me to tell her that I do not expect this Stranger to keep his word. But at least if you have bred our Queen, she will have more protection."~

~"She will not agree to this,"~ Scar hissed. ~"She loves all her children and us. If any one of us is hurt or killed... Brute we can't do this! It will destroy her!"~

~"If we do nothing, we lose everything."~ Brute reminded, ~"Hiss is already weakened, he will die if this Stranger's brothers are sent into kill all of us, if we don't do something to increase our own numbers, we will all die and our Hive and Queen will be ruined."~

~"I know."~ Scar growled watching Shelly sleep peacefully. He wanted to breed her, he couldn't deny that, but in this place with so much danger around and with the great chance that their plan would fail...

~"If this fails and she is taken from us, I will never forgive you."~ The scared Xenomorph promised.

~"I will never forgive myself."~ Brute assured and left the nest to begin his work. ~"My son."~

~"Yes Father?"~ The small Xenomorph asked, pausing in his steps to listen to his father's words.

~"Tell the Stranger we will help him, but only so long as he keeps to his end of this agreement and does not harm our Queen."~

The little one nodded and moved towards where he knew the Stranger could hear him, waiting for the other to speak.

}~"You have something to tell me?"~{

"My mother and Father agree to help, but only if you will keep to your agreement and leave our Queen alone." He said, hoping he sounded braver than he felt right now. This stranger was new, but something made him fearful.

}~"Very well. Tell your Father that the three newcomers are the sons of mine and will do no harm to your Queen. They know the plan and will inform your Hive of it when they arrive."~{

The small Xeno nodded and moved away from the stranger and back to the welcome warmth and closeness he had come to know was his Mother's area, the Metal Men didn't know about the telepathy that the Hive shared and because of that, it was safe for his

mother to reach out to him and bath him in her love and warmth until she could hold him again.

He told his father everything he had been told and then, with his father's permission, he began to hunt for some of those little mammals that tasted so nice.

\----------

Shelly watched Brute work, her tail lightly swaying as Scar gently rubbed and scraped at her back, smiling softly as he chittered and hissed in a more relaxed way that he had for a long time. Scar had told her the plan and while at first, she had been scared he and Brute had assured her that they would do all they could to protect her and their Hive.

"It is done." Brute hissed from above them and Shelly nodded climbing up to inspect the new area, smiling when the darkness of the new nest covered her in warmth and she hissed softly as Scar walked beside her, rubbing himself along her.

The new nest was as big as the ceiling and hung nicely, leaving plenty of room for the Brood to grow strong without the Lab rats knowing. Brute had also made a throne for Shelly to sit on to welcome these newcomers properly and talk to them when they arrived without the Humans knowing about it.

"Perfect." She nodded and Brute bowed before slipping away from the new nest, he settled down on a ledge to rest and keep the Hive away while Scar and Shelly were alone in what was the only privet area they had.

Scar hissed and chattered lightly. "My Queen, forgive me." He pleaded, knowing his temper and his behaviour until now had been harsh and uncalled for, so much so that Shelly could rightfully chose to throw him out of the nest and call Brute in to breed her instead.

"You have no reason to be sorry." She assured softly and pulled him close, lightly petting his back and shoulders. "You've been denied the rights to Breed with me because of these Humans. Now they will have a duty to fore fill from birth." She added smiling as he pushed her down into the soft, warm resin bed Brute had made for them.

Scar was different from Brute during breeding, he was still gentle and careful but he did not restrain her as tightly as Brute had, likely because he was scared of hurting her, he nuzzled and stroked the same places but his touch was firm and left a longer lasting feeling over her crest as he worked his tail around her pants and slowly pulled and tugged them down.

He wasn't as slow as Brute had been to push inside her, but he was careful with his movements, Shelly could feel he was longer and in a way sharper than Brute so carelessness on Scar's part could result in injury that the humans would notice, so Scar forced himself to go slow as he claimed his Queen.

She was quite save a few pleasant gasps and cut off moans, but they both knew that if she made too much noise the humans would know they were up to something and likely ruin their chances to escape forever. She held onto him tightly, almost desperately and Scar knew he wasn't hurting her, there was no scent of blood and no pained sounds as he continued, gently pushing and pulling his length deeper within his Queen, feeling the heat of her release coat him and bringing him closer to his own edge.

He reached it after what felt like a tormented eternity, his body falling over to the side, though his claws and tail clutched his Queen close to him and he nuzzled in to her neck and hissing softly as she panted, clinging to his arms as he held her.

It was peaceful and everything felt suddenly right in the world and she felt herself slowly slipping into a light slumber, warmth flooding her belly and the comfort of Scar's arms around her helping her drift off.

Until a loud knocking sound echoed from the glass window and she growled. "Go away!" She snarled.

Hiss growled at the humans behind the glass, "We need to speak with Shelly." The female stated and Hiss chattered at her, lashing his tail against the glass.

Shelly hissed loudly, poking her head out of the new nest with a heated glare at the Humans beyond the glass. "I said go away! I am trying to sleep!"

"We need to speak now." Lincroft said again. "Or we will start pulling your Hive apart and putting you all back in separate cages."

The glass cracked from the force behind Brute's head butt, forcing the humans behind it to quickly scramble out of the room as Snap and Hiss continued to slam and hit the glass until it finally shattered and the hive swarmed the room.

The young queen hissed, lashing her tail. "Cover it with Resin and make it part of the hive, then all of you hush up! I want to sleep!" She snapped and then slipped back into the nest with Scar.

"They will not take you away from us again my Queen," Scar assured as Brute, Hiss and Snap curled up around her. "We will not let them."

\----------

The Lieutenant waited three hours before he came to the main door way of the Hive and knocked twice.

"Go away lab rats!" Shelly hissed from the other side.

"Shelly, its Lieutenant Joshua Koi." He said and the hissing stopped. "I have come to tell you that the Scientists have been dealt with for their attempt to threaten you and that I have been given permission from the head boss to have three new Xenomorphs brought into your hive."

"Why are you back here?" Shelly asked. "You said you wouldn't bother us again."

"I know, but when the people who are meant to know better behave like fools I have no choice. Remember you were brought here and allowed to live only because we need you for Studies of behaviour, and the more you allow us to study, the less likely they are to make me come down here and that means you have to talk with me again." He explained, "Now we have three Xenomorphs out here to bring into your Hive so the Lab Rats can study on how your Hive reacts to strangers." He explained, "but to get them inside, we need you to call your Hive back."

Shelly hissed and chattered for a moment and slowly, the sound of Xenomorphs on the other side of the door grew fewer and fewer until there was no sound at all.

"May I come in without being harmed?" He asked.

"Brute will strip you of weapons." Shelly stated, sounding farther away now and he nodded, keying in the code carefully and waited for the doors to slowly open, as she had said, Brute was stood waiting, his huge form easy to see in the light of the hall way as the Lieutenant stepped forwards and waited.

Brute was very careful in his search for any weapons, using his tail spike to search the belt line, butting and nudging the back, hips and front of the Lieutenants body for anything that wasn't meant to be there before the huge Xenomorph moved behind the man and pushed him forwards with his head.

"Shelly?" He asked looking around, counting the usually heads of Xenomorphs, but no sign of the Queen's head Crest on the ground.

"Up here." Shelly called down and he looked up to see her looking down on him from a large new area of the Hive that had been made. "New sleeping room." She said before he could ask, "since the lab rats don't need to watch me sleeping."

"Ah," He said and watched Brute easily jump up and hold onto the resin beside the way in to the sleeping area, "May I bring these three new Xenomorphs in without your hive tearing them apart?"

"You can bring them in, but I make no promises for my Hive's behaviour if these strangers attack us first." Shelly said. "Consider that your only warning and get out." And with that said, Shelly vanished into her new sleeping area.

The mutilated Xenomorph, Hiss as Shelly had named him, jumped down from his place and pushed the Lieutenant back toward the door, growling as he saw three limp and clearly unconscious Xenomorphs being brought towards the Hive, but did not attack them and instead sat at the main entrance to the Hive, growling and hissing in warning as the lab personnel suddenly grew very stiff and unsure.

"We will place them in this area outside the Hive entrance so they can wake up without being surrounded." The Lieutenant said firmly. "Do not linger or push your luck ladies and gents, this is not something we can keep doing if the Hive rejects them." He added as the lab techs and doctors placed the Xenomorphs down and quickly removed themselves from the Hive.

Joshua Koi waited for the last tech to leave before looking to Hiss and then past the disfigured Xenomorph to the now clearly moving Walls and floor of the Hive beyond him.

This would be interesting to see.

He let the door shut and lock before he turned to the observation deck, arriving just in time to see the three new Xenomorphs starting to wake, sluggish and slow due to the heavy sedatives they had been given.

The first one got to its feet and looked around before dropping low and gave a very feline like hiss at the disfigured Xenomorph before it, the two other new ones copied this action but made themselves small and weak looking.

Hiss cocked his head and chittered at the others, then stepped aside as Brute slowly walked into the small area, growling deep in his throat and chest, his teeth on show and his tail waving slowly left and right.

The three went very still as Brute moved around and between them, inspecting them in some way or other. The professors were busily typing and photographing everything, recording it all for future reference in reports.

Something still felt strangely off about this whole situation.

Like it was too easy, too rehearsed...

He just had no proof of it.

Brute hissed and lead the three newcomers into his Hive, his brood slowly backing away though clearly, they were prepared to defend their Queen and her new Brood if need be.

The three new comers were careful, their heads low, their tails tucked under them as they walked and then stopped as Brute hissed and chattered up to the nest above him.

Shelly answered and with a last flick of his tail Brute vanished into the new area, out of the sight of the watching lab rats while the new Warrior, the Runner and the Drone were inspected by the rest of Shelly's Hive.

They behaved like cats, nudging and butting each other with the domes of their heads, but unlike cats, the two strangers stood and let it happen, never snapping or hissing when a tail spike lashed too close or a claw got too sharp.

"Very interesting." Lincroft said with a smile to her face. "Very interesting indeed."

Then all went quiet, Brute jumped down from the sleeping area and lashed his tail with a mighty roar, causing all the hive to back away from the strangers.

The three kept themselves small and low as Scar and Snap also came out of the sleeping area and then slowly, Shelly herself came down.

She hissed and chattered her teeth at the three and they responded in kind for a few minutes, now and then the Runner and Drone would pause and look to the Warrior as if in assurance or for some kind of guidance. Shelly's Hive remained back, but clearly ready to strike out if any danger came to their Queen.

Then, as if in some kind of rage the Warrior stood to full height, towering over Shelly and gave an all mighty roar at her in some kind of challenge. Shelly stood still and when the Warrior came back down and dropped back to all fours she did something that shocked all watching.

She roared at them in the same way any normal Xenomorph Queen would, the very sound shaking the bones in the human's chests and making white noise erupt through the equipment.

The strangers looked amongst themselves and then the Warrior hissed and chattered again, bowing its head low to the ground in submission, the Runner and Drone copied the Warrior and Shelly smiled proudly, gently petting the head of the new comers.

"She accepted them?" Prof. Lincroft asked in shock.

"She must have, they aren't dead." Prof. Chakston pointed out.

"How strange... I thought they would fight at some point." Prof. Don admitted looking over his notes.

"Maybe that comes later?" Prof. Chambers suggested. "They still have no place in the hierarchy."

"Hmmmm..." The Lieutenant said and quietly walked away.

He had much to think about.

\----------

They were brought before the Hybrid Queen by the Soft-skins, but their brother had told them that this was their chance to escape. A real chance to get away from these horrid cells and make their way to their new home. But to do it, they needed help and this strange new Queen.

She just needed assurance that her Hive would be safe and that there was no ill will between them. Her Hive from what they could see, was only small but they could smell a recent breeding within this hanging chamber, and that meant that they did not trust this Queen would be allowed to live if they did escape this wretched place.

She spoke as they did when she addressed them and they went through the motions easily, being inspected, tested, testing the Queen herself and then acceptance as they spent the rest of the day going step by step, learning their place in this new Hive until at last, Shelly allowed them into her Nest, where the heat was enough to make a human suffer heat stroke.

Shelly sat herself on her throne and the three of them bowed once again.

"You come here to tell us what the Stranger has planned." She said.

"We do, Highness." The Warrior said, his companions staying low and silent. "He has told us all he has planned and asked that we share it with you."

"Then speak quickly and plainly. We do not have time to waste." Brute said as Scar laid his head over Shelly's lap.

"We have been planning for years." the Warrior explained, "The Soft-skins have been clever, making our cells separate from the main areas of this ship, the only ways in and out are the ways the Soft-skins come to see us. They are small, but they are heavily protected and reinforced. But you, Highness, you have a son outside the cells, who can move where we cannot. With your aid, we can release the others and finally be free."

"How?" Scar hissed. "There are Crushers here, they take no order from males."

"They do take orders from our Mother." The Runner said.

"Your Mother is alive?" Scar asked.

"Another Queen?" Brute hissed.

"She is frozen. Sealed away from us but the Soft-skins have no idea we speak telepathically with her. This is her plan. Her will. But only our Brother can hear her... He and the Crushers were her Chosen." The Drone said. "She was taken before we could finish our plan before, but we have never stopped preparing."

"Explain." Shelly said.

And they did.

The plan had been, once upon a time, to let the Queen Breed with her Chosen over and over again, until the Hive was bigger than the ship could contain and then over run it, using the Soft-skins as hosts for the cradle born. But the plan had failed when the Lieutenant had blasted the cells with ice guns and killed the cradles and many young undeveloped young.

It had enraged the Queen and the Crushers, who had sired the slain Hive thus far and in their anger, they had attacked before it was time and the plan had failed, resulting in the Queen being frozen and taken away from her Hive, her Crushers chained and sealed away in a cage under constant watch by the Metal men and the last Chosen, locked away in the old Hive with the Queen's cradles, being forced to watch as the sot-skins dissected and butchered the dead bodies of his Queen's Brood.

Shelly covered her belly with her hands, they would do the same to her brood if they found out. Scar hissed soothingly and nuzzled his Queen gently. "It will not happen my Queen, we will not let it."

"What's to be done?" Brute asked as his Queen and Chosen sat in silence.

"Your Queen is carrying a Brood, when they are born and ready, we will need only open the cells of our siblings." The Warrior said, "Our Queen and the Crushers first and then the smaller groups, once they are out and free, the rest of the hives can be freed together."

"And my Hive will be allowed to do as we wish if we help you?" Shelly asked.

"My Queen is not interested in fighting her own." The Warrior assured, "She has a world in mind for us, a world where these Soft-Skins rule. She wants it to become our home and it will. What you and your Hive do, is entirely up to you when this is over."

"And if this fails?" Brute asked.

"It won't." The Warrior assured.

"How can you be so sure?" Shelly asked.

"Because your son isn’t the only one free." The Runner said. "My brothers are below us, hidden and waiting for the order from us, and once it is given they will attack the main deck of this ship, killing the Soft-Skins and disabling the locks on our cells. Meanwhile your Son will unlock our Queen and her Crushers."

"And you give your word my son will not be harmed." Shelly said.

"You have it, Highness." The warrior nodded.

Shelly bowed her head in through, one hand rubbing her belly the other lightly petting Scar's domed head.

There was a lot to think about and not a lot of time to think.

\----------

"You called sir?" John asked as he entered the Lieutenant's office.

"I think we may have to increase security around the Crushers and the Female we have in Cryo." The higher ranked man said, "This new addition is smart, smarter than we thought she would be, and far more likely to attack on the very mention of an attack on her Hive."

"You want me to kill her if shit hits the fan again?" John asked with a small smile.

"No, I want you to kill her four 'Guards' and her Hive." Joshua said, "I want your men ready to put them down and then have Shelly locked in the cryo chamber. Weyland's orders were to ship her and the other one to him if this place goes to pot and the way Lincroft is heading, that's where we are going."

"Understood sir. We'll be ready."

\----------

It became a waiting game.

As her belly grew big with her brood, Shelly stayed hidden in her Nest, refusing to leave and around her the Hive became more aggressive, even the three new additions began to show elevated aggression again fighting amongst themselves though never truly seeming to come to any kind of new standing as only hours later they were at it again, until they tired themselves out and fell into slumber. This helped keep the Lab rats distracted in their studies, but it did little to keep the Lieutenant from noticing Shelly was hiding away now she had a new sleeping area and trying to learn the reason.

However, before he could put the plan to remove Shelly into action, she came out of the sleeping area at last and he realized she had undergone another change. Her tail was longer now and the spiked tip more blade like and defined, her back now sported five bone-like spikes, the longest two sprouted from the back of her shoulder blades, the second two came from midway down her back and all four curled downwards.

The last spike was smaller than the rest and came from just above her tail.

"I need new clothes." She huffed using the tattered remains of her old shorts and shirt to cover her front.

"That's why you were up there all this time?!" Prof. Lincroft all but screamed in anger. "We could have studied the change!"

"Go away Lab rat." Shelly said. "I don't want an audience when I go through a long nap. It's bad enough I can't hunt real food." She added waving the professor off. "Do you have a big shirt anywhere I can have?" She asked the Lieutenant. "Pants aren't gonna fit me anymore."

"Well," he began and then cleared his throat. "I will have to look into the stores and find a shirt big enough to keep you modest. If you would allow Ellen to collects some resin samples from you and your brothers and then come with me for a short time so that the Doctors can check and make sure that this change is fully documented."

"For study?" The young Queen asked with an annoyed sigh.

The Lieutenant nodded. "The professors are collecting resin samples from each of the Hive members as part of the study into how you make your Hives and if they are different from others. We require some samples from yours as well. The facility doctors also will need to make sure that we have the right information for you just in case there is ever a reason we have to take you or your Hive Mates into a medical area. We don't want to hurt you with the wrong medication as you are still part human."

"If you must." Shelly huffed. "I want a black shirt."

"I'll see what I can find." He said and after a short time he returned to the observation deck with a large shirt and opened the door enough to allow Ellen to side step inside and find Shelly stood with Brute and Scar at her sides.

Ellen handed over the shirt and then looked at Brute and Scar. "One at a time please. Just a small amount in this dish." She explained and held out a glass dish about the size of a large dinner plate.

Brute stepped forwards first and sat, retching a few times before a large glop resin fell from his inner jaw and into the plate.

"Thank you." Ellen said and placed the dish aside and was handed another. "Next please."

Scar came forwards and did the same thing Brute had done and then Snap and lastly Hiss, who took a little longer to form a large enough sample due to his disfigured face and inner jaw.

"And you?" Ellen asked.

Shelly shook her head. "I can't make resin." She explained though there was a smile on her face as Brute made holes in the back of her new shirt for the spikes. "Thank you, Brute."

"Very well." Ellen nodded and slipped back out of the door. "Thank you for the samples, I will return later to take you to the doctors." She added and the door closed again.

Shelly huffed and then climbed up the wall and made her way to a large ledge where she could watch her whole Hive, settling down with her feet swinging lightly as the Hive began to grow more active and small fights broke out.

"That was a close call, Highness," The Warrior from the other Hive said as he sat below her.

"I had to do something to stop them barging in here and noticing my brood had increased." Shelly explained as Hiss joined her on the ledge and she gently pet his face and head. "And now at least the doctors won't try dissecting my babies."

"Are you sure not covering up won't alert them to the fact you are breeding?" The Runner asked as he pushed and tussled with Snap.

~ "They don't even know Brute is the sire of the first brood." ~ Hiss explained, ~ "We will do our job, you need only do yours." ~

"Hiss, please, it is not their fault we have been locked in this cage." Shelly soothed softly and Hiss sighed, lowering his head into her lap, chittering softly.

"You need not worry." The Warrior assured, "Soon we will all be free."

\----------

Carefully, he moved over the lose wires and piping, wiggling his way around the vents and following the mental map he had been shown to reach his target, snapping his little inner jaws at the wires and cables that looked important to make as much trouble for the metal men and the Humans as he could.

His mother had said this was the plan to help the Stranger and his family escape as well and all he had to do was reach the power device to open the cells that held the strong Xenomorphs captive.

He was going slowly because they had said there were many dangers on the way to the power source and he didn't want to fail this important task, if he did he would likely never be able to get back to his Hive and he missed his siblings and his Mother's gentle petting when she held him and he missed being surrounded by his brothers and father.

So, he moved on, making his way slowly through the maze of vents to find his target and once he'd found it, he would need only wait for the signal.

\----------

"Why are your Hive mates fighting each other?" Prof Don asked and Shelly, who had been lazily petting Snap's head huffed.

"It's to sort out who eats first. Each change I go through means that Brute or Scar are in charge, when they step down the Hive has a few days of infighting and scraps like this to sort out who's who and where you sleep in the nests." She told them. "For people who say they study Xenomorphs, you haven't learnt very much at all."

"You are the first Hive we have had to study with a Queen at this level." Prof. Kelly said, making notes. "We didn't have permission to study so closely before you were found." She added.

Prof. Lincroft humped, "Even if you are a hybrid you are the best chance we have of learning anything about Xenomorph behaviour and how they interact."

"We hunt, we kill humans, we sleep, we eat, then we do it all again." Shelly said with a small hiss as the Runner and Hiss began to scrap.

May I ask, how you became so close to the four you have named?" Prof Chambers asked. "We were not given much back ground on how you became a Hive Queen, only that you were found by Lieutenant Jessica Helm of the 677 Squadron."

"Go look at my file." Shelly said.

"We don't have anything from before you came here." Lincroft stated.

Shelly growled and lashed her tail. "Short version, my father was a bastard and used me as test subject for his own pleasures then when he was told to stop by the boss, he killed everyone in the lab and tried to throw me into a deep dark pit to die. Instead Brute caught me from falling and they looked after me, they fed me, trained me, they became the family I never had and over the weeks they made me Queen. End of story."

"What happened to your father?" Prof Kelly asked.

"I ripped his heart out of his chest and left him to rot." Shelly said, smiling as Brute came to join her and nuzzled in her chin. "Brute and Scar taught me how to make him hurt as much as he had hurt me, they taught me how to be a Queen."

"Clearly they did not teach you everything." Lincroft said, "You have not become a Queen until you have a Brood." She added. "We know that much."

~ "I will kill her slowly." ~ Scar snarled as he butted the wall where the voice was coming from.

"Scar says you are a rude old hag." Shelly said and stood, "Come on, we have nothing more to tell these lab rats." She added and lead her brothers into the hanging nest.

She was greeted by the warmth and gentle nuzzles of her youngest brood, fourteen in total and all of them Warriors. Scar had been pleased with his brood and after telling them the plan they had agreed to stay in the nest until it was time to act.

"Soon mother?" One asked.

"Soon my sons." She promised softly.

\----------

} You are near my Queen tiny one. { The stranger's voice told him and he paused, looking down into the cool room below him and then respectfully bowed his head. } The Crushers are ready. You need only find the power devices and shut them down. The rest will be done for you. {

He nodded and carefully moved on, searching everywhere for the box he had been told would shut down the power.

He found it.

But there was a large problem.

"Mother... the Box is in the Lieutenant's office." He said.


	8. Chapter Seven; Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the end of Shelly's imprisonment and the future of her Hive has been decided.
> 
> All hail the Queen.

\----------   
Chapter seven.   
Home. 

 

With a gentle flick of his tail, his party attacked the foolish humans who had trespassed on this world, killing the armed and dragging the unarmed off into the darkness with ease. 

He hunted for many, many more than you saw here. He hunted for the future of his family and the future of his Mother's Hive. This was their home now and all its creatures would either become toys or they would become food. 

That was his Queen's law and thus, his law. 

"A good hunt, Shadow." One of his brothers chattered, dragging the limb body of a man behind him as they returned to the huge Hive that swarmed with their kin. 

"A very good hunt." He nodded. "Mother will be pleased." 

"Very pleased," a scared headed Xenomorph nodded as he came from the darkness, "She has just given birth to a new brood. And they are very hungry." 

Shadow nodded and bowed his head, hurrying off to the main camber at the middle of the Hive to offer his gift to his Mother. 

She was smiling and stretched out in her throne, watching her Hive work around her as his father lay at her side his tail loosely wrapped around hers as their latest brood wiggled and hissed at one another. 

"A good hunt my son." She praised as he came close, dropping the dead man at the feet of his new brothers and sisters. "How are things beyond my Hive?" 

"The Humans cower and flee at the very sight of us. As expected." Shadow nodded and curled up beside his mother, purring as she petted his head. "Their signals have failed them again." 

"Good." She nodded. 

"No! No Please! please stop! No!!!" A woman screamed from somewhere and the Queen chuckled. 

"Sounds like Lincroft is having her session with the Drones again." She said lightly petting her son as he hissed at the direction the voice had come from. "A shame Hiss is not here to enjoy her." 

"He chose his fate to give you the chance to live, My Queen." Brute reminded softly, gently pressing his head against Shelly's cheek. 

"He should have lived to see this." Shelly said with a pained sighed. "He would have liked this place." 

"He would, but you meant too much to us for him to leave you to the hands of those soft skins." Brute said as Shadow nuzzled his mother. "His sacrifice gave us all our Freedom." 

Shelly nodded, looking at her ever growing Hive, smiling as Snap and some of the younger Drones went into a tunnel where the screams were coming from, remembering the way this had all come to be. 

\---------- 

They had no idea how to fix this problem and it frustrated them to no end, the way out was in the office of the one man none of them could out think or out smart. 

Not with their Queen under such a close watch. 

Shelly watched the Warrior of the other Queen's Hive pace, listening to his Hive mates beyond her and trying to come up with a plan of some kind. She sighed and looked to her own Hive and her guards, had they come so close to victory only to have it snatched away? Had this all been for nothing? 

"My Queen, go sleep." Hiss suggested softly, "You need rest." He added. 

"But Hiss..." 

"Please my Queen, go sleep... you will need your strength for when the doctors see you." The Drone pleaded again and Shelly smiled lightly hugging the Xenomorph and headed up to her nest. 

When he was sure she was settled, Hiss stepped forwards and butted his head against Brute's side to get his attention. 

"What is it Brother?" 

"I know how to make this right. But the Queen mustn't know." Hiss explained and carefully laid out his plan as his Queen slept in her warm nest. 

When Ellen came back to the Hive, the doors opened just enough for her to see inside and she found Shelly's Hive waiting for her, hissing and chattering at her. 

"Shelly?" She called out. 

"Just a minute." The Hybrid Queen said and Ellen saw her coming towards the doors, closely followed by her brothers, though they stopped by the doors, giving Ellen what could only be warning growls and hisses as the doors closed behind Shelly. 

"Come along." Ellen said and led Shelly down the hall way and away from her Hive. 

The hall ways were bright, clean and smelt horrid, but now Shelly was outside her Hive she could hear and feel the many other Xenomorphs around her, the curious and gentle touches to her mind as she followed Ellen. 

They reached the medical room and Shelly huffed. "It's freezing in here." 

"So sorry." The Lieutenant stated from his place with the lab rats. 

"Why are you here? You're not a lab rat." Shelly said. 

"He's here to make sure you don't do anything stupid." Lincroft stated and ducked as Shelly's tail spike lashed the air where she had been. 

"I wasn't talking to you." She hissed. 

The Lieutenant nodded. "I am here to ensure that while you are being checked and scanned do not attack the doctors who are going to be working on you." He explained and nodded to the large open space that had been cleared, "Step over here and we will begin." 

"So, what are these tests for?" Shelly asked as the lab rats began their work. 

"Just basic tests, checking responses, making dental and claw impressions, taking measurements and also, hopefully, taking a small skin sample of your remaining human skin to see if it has been effected at all by these changes." Prof. Clarkston explained as he photographed her tail spike and head crest. "It's also to keep our file on you up to date." 

"How many of these chances have you had?" Prof. Chambers asked Shelly as she carefully took notes of her weight and height as she also took a photo of her face and hands. 

"This is the fourth," Shelly said flicking her tail lightly. "First one was my hands and feet up to my knees and elbows and the start of my crest, then my tail grew in and my back started to harden up and the crest got bigger, then I have a third change and my crest flared out more and the spike on my tail got bigger. This one has strengthened my body, the spikes grew in on my back and my tail is in its final phase, when my next change comes around my whole body will have black hardened skin." 

"Why would you need that?" Prof. Lincroft asked, carefully holding a large semi-circle around Shelly's body as it scanned her with a colorful flurry of lights to show her image on a screen. 

"Soft skin, easy target, hard skin, better protection." Shelly said, then blinked as she was offered a thermometer "Really?" 

"Under the tongue please," Prof Don said nodding. 

Shelly sighed and put the device in her mouth. 

"Do these changes hurt at all?" Lincroft asked reaching for a needle from the table nearby, Shelly hissed loudly and smacked the needle away with her tail, the thermometer lost to the floor as she jumped up and dug her claws into the celling. 

"Shelly." The Lieutenant warned. 

"No. Needles." Shelly hissed. 

"We need a blood sample." Lincroft stated. 

Shelly hissed again and used her tail tip to cut herself and let the injury bleed until a few drops hit the floor and began to burn through it. 

"No. Needles." Shelly hissed again and the Lieutenant nodded. 

"Alright Shelly, no needles." He agreed, "But, we do need a sample of your blood," he added. 

\---------- 

He pulled, yanked, bit and ripped wires and cables apart with his teeth and claws, cutting thicker ones with his tail spike as he went, hearing humans scream and yell in worry and panic as the rooms went dark and the radios died. 

} The power is starting to fail. My Hive is starting to gather and attack the humans. { The Stranger said as he yanked another wire free. 

He could hear the Other Hive around and below him, each member quick to start ramming and smashing the walls of their holding cells, shattering glass and denting metal until at least he came to the large cell that held the Crushers and had to hold tight to the wall as they rammed the walls of their cell with enough force to shake the heavy cables lose. 

} My brothers will be free soon, but you must free our Queen. { 

"There are men in the room, I can't get inside." He explained, pulling the last large cable free from its place. "None of these wires make the power go out here." 

Shelly's Hive began to stir, angrily head butting and shoulder barging the doors that kept them inside while tearing and ripping at the wall of the entrance ways as they facility began to scream with alarms and sirens, Hiss shaking and rubbing himself along the walls and doors, leaving an acidic trail behind as he went. 

} Then I will come to you. { The Stranger said as a powerful roar echoed around the smallest Xenomorph, making him shake and cling to the wall to keep from falling down. 

\---------- 

"What was that?" Ellen asked before the room shook around them with an echoing roar. 

"What's going on?!" Lincroft demanded. 

There was a clear snap of mental on metal and Shelly watched the Lieutenant stand up. The safety had been switched off on his weapon. "We are done here." 

"But Lieutenant-" Lincroft began. 

"That is an order. Everyone out and get to the sealed rooms, Ellen begin Facility Purge. And you." The man stated and pointed the gun at Shelly's face. "Get moving." 

Shelly slowly got down to the floor, keeping her hands where he could see them as she stood up. 

Then with a swift hiss, she spun with such speed and smacked his gun aside with her tail as her claws found Ellen's throat, cutting deep and fast as the woman's body fell, releasing white blood from the systems inside. 

He tried to draw his spare weapon, but the heavy, unmistakable weight of a Xenomorph slammed into him and he squeezed the trigger blindly as the misshapen inner jaw ripped into his throat. 

"HISS!!!!!!!" 

\---------- 

He clung to the wall tightly as the room below him shook and rattled with forces he'd never seen or felt before, all around him, he could hear his Hive and Mother fighting the soldiers. 

Then, with a sudden savage battle cry a Xenomorph Runner ripped the door open and was pelted with shots and curses from the humans in the room. 

It all went very quiet for a time and then as if summoned from some dark hell, a creature he had never seen before charged into the room and attacked, killing the humans with one swift tail sweep and then with a screeching hiss, it reached up and ripped the vent from the ceiling. 

} Come tiny one. I will not hurt you. { The stranger assured softly and slowly he came down and found the stranger was unlike any he had seen before. } My Queen must be freed. { 

He nodded and after head butting the glass that covered the power switch on the Lieutenant's desk he pushed the button down with all his weight. 

He looked up in horror as his mother screamed from somewhere in the facility, listening as she wailed in unforgiving fury and felt the blood in his tiny body run cold as he realized she had ordered her Hive to kill every armed soft skin on sight. 

"My mother is..." He said unable to find the words to describe what he felt from her, looking at the Stranger. "I have to go to her." 

} Go Tiny one, I will see to things here. { The Stranger nodded watching the Tiny Xenomorph hurry off. 

\---------- 

The Crushers broke their chains easily and smashed their cells open, roaring and charging into the hail of bullets and gasses ripping their guards apart with savage hunger and rage as they moved to the next room, ripping apart equipment and wires as their Queen's link with her Hive grew stronger and stronger until at last the Queen's echoing roar echoed around the facility. 

"Brothers!" The Warrior called and the three of them charged forwards and met their hive mates with deep growls and snarls as their ranks grew and grew, each shake of the facility bringing more and more Xenomorphs together as Humans screamed and cried in fear and shock. 

Then from the darkness, a huge crest headed Queen came to her Hive and hissed sharply at them all, searching the gathered Hive mates she had raised and found her Chosen. 

Pausing as a tiny form raced between her feet and darted into a small corridor she could not go into. 

"Mother! Mother!" The tiny Xenomorph cried out searching the halls for his Hive Queen and skidded to a stop in horror at the sight before him. 

Hiss's mutilated form lay in Shelly's arms, limp and oozing blood that burned and hissed against the floor as the Queen held her fallen Drone, sobbing uncontrollably as she tried to wake him. Snap crouched at one side her, his head low as he mourned the loss with his Queen. 

"Mother?" The tiny Xenomorph asked and Shelly looked up at her tiny son as he came closer, gently pressing his head against the ruined cheek of the Drone she held, trying to rouse him. "Why won't he wake up?" 

"He is gone little one." Snap explained lightly pulling the tiny Xenomorph away as his Queen cried. "The Soft Skins have taken him from us and he will never wake again." 

} They have killed him. { 

Snap hissed warningly, standing between his Mourning Queen and her child with a echoing chatter and snarl as he lashed his tail at the new comer. 

} Peace. { the Stranger said as he bent low and stayed by the door. } I bring no ill will to you or your Queen. { 

"You're the Stranger?" Shelly asked looking at the new Xenomorph before her as she realized he was the one who had communicated with her son for so long. "What are you?" 

} I was born of a Hunter that came here to try and slay the Queen, now I aid her Hive in becoming stronger in time for our arrival upon the Soft Skin's home world. { The Stranger explained. 

"You are a Prince?" Snap hissed curiously. 

"What?" Shelly asked. 

"A Prince." Brute hissed as he came from the vents with Scar at his side, both covered in blood and white fluid, "Born of Hunters who seek to wipe our kind out. They are stronger even then a Queen, and can kill them to control their Hives." 

} True, but I have no desire to take what you have here. Thanks to you and your tiny son, we have freed our Queen and brethren as we planned to do so long ago. We are indebted to you. { 

"You owe me nothing, you cannot give me back what has been taken." Shelly said letting Scar gently pry Hiss from her hands as she lifted her tiny son and held him tightly. "Your Queen is unharmed?" 

} She waits for us in the chamber where the Human keep their ships. { He nodded and offered her his hand, unlike other Xenomorphs his hand was much larger and there was untold strength in his hold despite how gentle he was clearly trying to be. He led her and her Hive to the shuttle bay where his Queen was waiting and once there he was greeted by several large Warriors and one small Runner. 

Shelly looked up and blinked, feeling her son tighten his hold on her shirt as they looked upon the larger Queen of another Hive and her children. She was tall, covered in grayish scars and missing parts of her Crest and back spines and yet she still held control and authority over her Hive as they slowly bowed down in greeting to the Hybrid Queen. 

A gentle pressure around her head, searching for a way to communicate with her that was familiar and Shelly slowly let the other Queen into her mind, showing her what she had been and how she had become the Queen of her own little Hive, the torment, anger and fear she had felt for so long slowly fading to become a sense of belonging and love. 

The older Queen's mind was just as tormented, raised in captivity most of her life with only the faint memories of her own Queen's death and the loss she'd felt before being introduced into a new Hive. The joy at discovering she would become a Queen and the plan to escape the Facility, the long-tormented days ion Cryo freeze, planning and plotting with the Chosen to free herself and them once again and take the Soft Skin planet for their own. 

"You have aided us, Little Sister." The old Queen hissed, "I am in no state to wish you ill when you have given me back what I carelessly lost. For your aid, I leave you this facility and all its Soft Skins to do with as you wish." 

"How will you reach Earth?" Shelly asked. 

"We have our ways." The Queen assured, "Now, little sister, I ask only one last thing of you." 

"And that is?" 

"Unhand me!!" A familiar voice demanded in terror as Prof Chambers was dragged from the darkness. "Let me go!" 

"She stole my first son." The old Queen hissed in clear rage at the very sight of the woman. "I ask your permission to take her with me and let my Hive and Chosen torture her as she tortured me." 

Shelly growled and clutched her little son close to her chest. "Do as you see fit with her, but make sure it hurts." She said and the scared Queen nodded her thanks, then bent her head and gently pressed her head against Shelly's for a moment. 

"I will remember you, Little Sister and should we cross paths again, I would hope it was as allies." The Older Queen chattered and with a flick of her tail her large Hive slipped away into the darkness of a large shuttle dragging the screaming Professor with them. 

"What now Mother?" her tiny son asked. 

"We have work to do making this place a true Hive. But first," Shelly smiled lightly petting her son's head. "You have earnt a name, my son." 

"I have?" He asked, his tail swaying happily behind him. 

"You were very brave to do all you have done so far alone, from talking to the Stranger and freeing his Queen to while you may not feel it, you have earned the name over and over again." Brute nodded. 

"What is my name Mother?" He asked. 

"Little Shadow." Shelly smiled. "Your name is Little Shadow." 

"Your orders my Queen?" Scar asked. 

Shelly smiled, "Hunt down the Lab rats, kill all but Lincroft. Bing her to me." She ordered, cradling her son." 

They had found Prof Lincroft huddled in a sealed room, alone, shaking with fear and struggling to get some kind of S.O.S message out. When she realized the Hive was at her door, and about to break though she had gathered all her work and clutched it desperately to her chest as she pleaded for some kind of mercy. 

Scar and Brute threw her into the old Hive where Shelly sat, with her youngest Brood all around her and her son cradled in her arms. 

Shelly smiled sweetly and used her tail spike to lift the woman's face to look at her. "You said you wanted to study our behavior." She said and then looked to Scar. "Then you threaten to take my Hive away from me, you try to use me as a means to create weapons. Now, you have failed." 

"You can't stop Weyland Shelly, no one can! He will find a way to weaponize your Hive and you!" Lincroft declared only to be smacked across the face by the tail spike and Shelly stood up. 

"My son will feast on your heart." Shelly hissed about to let her son go when there was a sudden 'snap-snap' above her and Shelly paused. "Snap?" 

Lincroft gasped in fear as the Drones of Shelly's Hive began circling her, snapping and hissing at her angrily, waiting for the chance to strike. Snap came down from his place in the Hive and pressed his head into Shelly's hand, "My Queen, let us have this creature. Please let us have." 

"You want this creature Snap?" Shelly said and Lincroft tried to speak only to be smacked once again by the clawed hands of a Drone. "Why?" 

"She wanted to study our kind, let us teach her how we truly are with Humans." Snap pleaded chattering softly at his Queen, rubbing his domed head against her legs like a cat pleading for attention, "She is human and cannot carry our broods, but we are lower that the Chosen, we cannot wish to Breed with you." He added pleadingly. "Let us have her." 

Shelly looked at Lincroft and then at Snap, carefully thinking over what she had been told and what she had wanted. 

"She would suffer worse pains," Brute said, "Drones are not restrained as we are, and they do not take no for an answer from lesser creatures." 

"And she would not be wasted." Scar nodded. 

"Very well." Shelly nodded with a smirk. "You are in luck Lincroft. My Drones wish to keep you alive for themselves." She explained. 

"What? What do you mean!?" Lincroft panicked and then cried in shock as she was snatched up in tight tails and dragged off. "Shelly what are they doing? Shelly!?" 

"Enjoy yourself Lincroft. You are going to have a lot of studying notes to make." Shelly laughed. 

\---------- 

Brute looked up as the screaming became broken sobbing and chattered his teeth. "She will not live much longer." He said. 

"She will be no use much longer," Shelly said with a smile. "Scar can have the killing blow, I have told Snap that, but if he takes fancy to another toy, he is welcome to keep it. so long as they do not harm my Hive." 

"Of cause my Queen." Brute nodded. 

Within the following six months of their escape, the Facility had crashed on a Human Colonized world, there was food a plenty, water to drink and wash in and Lincroft was suffering daily at the hands of her Drones. Raped, bitten and tortured in other ways Shelly had seen her Drones practicing in their spare time. 

Little Shadow had grown into a huge Warrior, like his father and like his father he was devoted to her, bringing her gifts and food often and curling up with her at night when his father or Scar were aiding with expanding the hive or hunting, though he was not her Chosen, he was close to her always. 

Shelly had undergone her last change, now she lay without a shirt or any human clothes to cover her body, her skin and face were hardened black now, and while her eyes were still human shaped, they showed her the world as a true Xenomorph should see, with a faint fog to the edges of her vison, but the central vision was focused and gave her the ability to see far off movements that might be a threat before it came too close. 

It also meant Brute and Scar didn't have to worry about hurting her anymore. 

Breeding have become more regular now and the Hive had grown large and strong because of it, spreading vastly around the world with ease as Shelly sat, safe and protected in her chamber, surrounded by the Hive she called home and loved by those who had given her purpose in life. 

It was home. 

Home at long last, and it was all hers. 

'Monsters are meant to be scary, evil things that kill innocent little girls. That make them scared and fearful of the darkness and yet, here I sit, unafraid of the darkness because of these Monsters. They gave me love, hope, power, strength and so much more. 

Humanity beat and snatched my childhood from me and left me to the mercy of a Madman. Men with power and money tried to use me and failed because Monsters saved me. 

I am Queen. 

And I will never be used by Humanity ever again.' 

 

 

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I Know its short, I know there are so many other things that could have been done, but this is my idea and this is how its going, end of. 
> 
> Also please prey for my Beta reader The_Specialist, he has been in an accident and needs healing.


End file.
